Henrietta United Church of Christ

Scripture

7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.

8We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. 11For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.

Sermon

Susan was the kind of woman you pray that your daughter doesn’t become. She married a very immature boy before she finished high school, and he left her after she had their third child. She then hooked up with a series of abusive boyfriends. She started abusing drugs and alcohol, went from bad jobs to worse jobs to no job, and began to neglect herself. When she was 32, she was the mother of five children, living off the leftovers of neighbors and relatives, and drinking heavily. One morning she woke up from a hangover, and found her youngest daughter drowned in the pool next door.

A pastor by the name of Philip Gulley was called in to do the funeral. Susan told him that she had been abandoned by God. Philip muttered some words about God loving her and knowing her pain, and that she wasn’t alone. But he wasn’t sure he believed his own words. He saw Susan as a godless sinner who was no doubt destined for hell. It was all he could do to hide his anger at Susan during her daughter’s funeral. After the funeral, Susan wailed beside the coffin that there was no reason for her to keep living–absolutely none.

A number of years later, Pastor Gulley was called by Susan’s family to do another funeral. This time it was Susan’s. He wasn’t too surprised. As he talked to Susan’s family, he learned more about her life. Susan’s father had deserted her when she was three. Her mother tried to fill the void with a parade of boyfriends, none of whom wanted a little girl in their way. So Susan was passed from reluctant relative to relative, nobody keeping her very long. She never stayed anywhere long enough to make any friends, trust the love of anyone, or get stabilized in a school. This made sense of Susan’s poor self-esteem, dropping out of school, latching onto any man who seemed to want her, and drinking and drugging to deal with her pain.

But Susan hadn’t died from an OD or a DWI. One minute she had been laughing with co-workers at a job she enjoyed. The next minute she lay crumpled at their feet from a massive stroke. Susan’s family told Pastor Gulley that the last five years had been the happiest years of her life. She had turned her life around. After her daughter’s death, she had moved to a small town, had found a job, and then a better one. She had bought a house, planted flowers, even planted a tree. She had made true friends because she had been able to be a friend. She had worked through the bitterness and resentments about her family, had made peace with her past, and had made peace with herself. A month before her death she had told her son she was going to look for a church.

Susan’s story had a profound effect on Pastor Gulley. In his book If Grace Is True, he writes that when he did Susan’s funeral, he buried more than Susan. He also buried his self righteousness, his judgmentalism, and his belief that there are two kinds of people–condemned sinners who are destined for hell and the righteous saved who are destined for heaven.¹

“We have this treasure in earthen vessels,” Paul proclaims. We are all earthen vessels, with our human flaws, cracks, needs, mistakes, and problems. And we are all vessels of a precious divine treasure–that has the capacity to overcome overwhelming obstacles, learn from bad mistakes, forgive scarring mistreatment, release bitter resentments, find deep acceptance, and develop gifts that can truly touch the world. Because of that treasure, we can be “afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”

On Thursday I read those words to Sally Erwin, as she lay paralyzed in her hospital bed, totally dependent on a respirator for every breath, on tubes for nourishment, and on nurses to provide all her physical care. And even though the air from the respirator is now going directly into her throat instead of into her mouth, she still can’t make herself understood through words. This is the Sally who was always visiting, calling, sending cards and helping anyone she knew who was going through a hard time. Now she is afflicted, perplexed and struck down. But she is not crushed, driven to despair, forsaken, or destroyed. Even though her earthen vessel is broken, the treasure of her beautiful spirit is shining out as brightly as ever–through the light in her expressive eyes, her bright smile, and the kissing movements she makes with her mouth.

You have that treasure in you too, though you’re probably more aware of your earthen vessel. But when you feel deep gratitude, reverence, awe, or the need to pray, that’s the treasure of your spirit connecting with God’s Spirit–your spirit’s Source and Home.

When you feel an inner strength mobilizing you to right a wrong or speak the truth or accomplish a worthy goal, that’s the vital power of your treasure serving the cause of life and truth.

When you feel your heart open to another person in understanding, forgiveness or compassionate action, that’s your treasure being a channel of God’s unconditional love.

When you develop a talent you can share, or do something or give something that makes a real difference, that’s the generosity of your treasure touching the world through your gifts.

This treasure that we sometimes glimpse in ourselves and each other is our spiritual essence that God created to reflect God’s own spirit and nature. In his book The Diamond Approach, John Davis talks about our divine spiritual essence in these words:

We experience it as that which is most intimately ourselves..., and it is the most precious and most beautiful center of us. It is our significance, our meaning, our nature, our identity. It is what moves our hearts, illuminates our minds, fulfills our lives. It is so near a thing to our hearts that only the heart can taste it. It is so near a thing to us that it is actually the very substance of our identity....Its potentialities are staggering, its creativity is boundless, its depth is endless, and its intelligence is limitless. It is a wonder—a wonder beyond all miracles.²

We do indeed have a treasure in our earthen vessels. I believe our life’s purpose is to develop this treasure so we can draw on it more fully and share it more freely with the world. How can we do that? There are no single road maps that fit everyone, because we all start from different places and have different life experiences. But there is a place where we can come and a community that we can become where our treasures are discovered, affirmed, developed, and shared. That place and that community is our church.

We become a treasure-discovering church when we welcome earthen vessels of every shape and size, color and condition, because we know that no matter who they are or where they are on life’s journey, God has placed a precious treasure inside them. And we have seen over and over again how God sends people here to help them find and develop that treasure.

We become a treasure-affirming church when we consistently honor the worth of each infant, child and youth, no matter their stage of maturity or immaturity, no matter their abilities or disabilities. And we affirm those treasures when we encourage those children’s gifts and contributions as they learn and grow, and when we help shape their characters around the values of faith, compassion, fairness, integrity, and generosity.

We become a treasure-growing church when we join our voices, instruments and hearts in grateful worship of the one God who unites us all–our loving, forgiving, healing, liberating, guiding, empowering Creator. Few things align our spirits with God’s Spirit like being part of a congregation full of people singing, praying, and listening to God together.

We become a treasure-developing church when we help unwrap each other’s gifts for ministry in our daily lives, and encourage each other as we invest our gifts in the ministries of our church.

We become a treasure-sharing church when we care for people who are in pain or in need within our church family or within God’s human family. We become Christ’s hands and feet and voice for them, that remind them that God has not forgotten them.

Because of your gifts of time, talents and treasure that you have faithfully offered here, this church has become like clay in the Potter’s hands, which God is molding into a vessel of life-giving wisdom and eternal truth, of saving grace and uniting peace, of healing hope and empowering love. Because of what God is doing in us and among us, we have a treasure in this earthen vessel of HUCC, a treasure that grows more valuable and more beautiful through each act of faithful service and gift of generosity.

It looks like we’re going to face a challenging year financially here at HUCC. Our roof needs replacing, our major rental income ended last week, the economy is in a recession, and the size of our building just hasn’t been automatically expanding with the size of our congregation. So it’s more important than ever to faithfully ground ourselves in God’s economy of shared abundance. In God’s economy, we together have all that we need to grow and thrive as the body of Christ. As long as we focus on being a community of faith where our treasures are discovered, affirmed, developed, and shared, how can we lack for anything? All the treasures we seek are already here, within our earthen vessels.