Deuteronomy 6:20 - 25
When your children ask you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the decrees
and the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?’
21then you shall say to your children, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but
the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22The Lord displayed
before our eyes great and awesome signs and wonders against Egypt, against
Pharaoh and all his household. 23He brought us out from there in order to bring
us in, to give us the land that he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24Then
the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God,
for our lasting good, so as to keep us alive, as is now the case. 25If we
diligently observe this entire commandment before the Lord our God, as he has
commanded us, we will be in the right.’
Matthew 26:36 - 38
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.’
Better
Together
Occasionally Pete will ask me – if
church wasn't your job, what would we do Sunday mornings? My first answer is
always this – We'd sit on the couch at the First Church of the NY Times where
the coffee time is during service.
But Pete knows better - if we miss church more than two weeks in a row, we miss
you. We miss
you and we miss it: we miss church. Pete and I value
community. We value it individually, we value it as a couple and so does our
church.
In 2000 Robert Putnam wrote a best selling book called Bowling Alone. He shows
that we as a society sign fewer petitions, belong to fewer organizations, know
our neighbors less, meet with friends less frequently, and even socialize with
our families less often.
Anyone surprised?
Work demands, family structures, suburban life, television, computers, the role
of women in our society have all contributed to a decline in community life.
So what? His book hinges on the concept of social capital. A person's social
capital is the value given to a person's social network. Social networks can be
classmates, coworkers, neighbors, friends, teams, clubs, civic associations,
even facebook and twitter. And the reason that a person's social network
carries value is – well, let me give you examples: When a group of neighbors
keep an eye on each others homes, that’s social capital in action. E-mail
exchanges among members of a cancer support group is social capital in action.
My son Dan was able to raise money for a bilingual book program in less than 3
hours through one email – that's social capital.
When we view the world through a social capital lens, front porches become
crime fighting tools, picnics are public health efforts, belonging to a church
choir is an act of democracy.When we look at the world through a social capital
lens we begin to see that we have taken individualism to its unnatural
conclusion. We try to "make it on our own.”
"Last year the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a survey that
created a huge buzz in religious circles. The survey named a growing group of
people who called themselves "Spiritual but not Religious.” That's the church
version of bowling alone. That's faith without social capital.
Now I'm fine with the term, "Spirituality.” It's growing use exerts our
individualism in regards to faith. It is a term that has grown to fight against
religious fundamentalism. Religion has harmed many in the name of God so people
prefer to call themselves spiritual but not religious.
It is often used in response to dry, meaningless rituals of religion. Many
people's church experience didn't feed their soul and so they have asserted
that they are a spiritual but not religious.
But if we as a church value community, we are saying that we think faith needs
to be both spiritual and religious.
It's been said that one can't be a Christian in isolation. Why?
In today's Epistle lesson, Paul is grateful for the collective community. He
encouraged them together saying God is still working. You know the phrase,
"God's not finished with me yet.” I think if Paul saw that on a bumper sticker
he'd say you mean, "God's not finished with us yet.”
The scriptures assume a collective audience. They assume that faith formation
happens alongside others. Faith formation is richest when it has social
capital.
In today's gospel text, Jesus asks his friends to stay with him. Jesus, the son
of God had a social network and he tried to draw on its capital. Now, it's a
great example of when it doesn't pan out, right? But let's remember that Jesus'
faithful followers stood by him on the cross, took care of his body, buried him
and have carried his message for thousands of years – that's social capital.
Faith formation is richest when it has social capital.
Jesus grew up with the words from today's Hebrew scripture lesson - when your
children ask questions about faith and life, the answer is not just spiritual –
it's not about my personal spiritual experience. The answer is not just
religious – it's not what scripture says or what the Presbyterian church
believes.
When a question emerges about faith and life, the answer is spiritual and
religious – the answer is the story of us.
Our social capital enables answers that are broad in their response. In
response to the economy, we know stories of downsized companies, overworked employees
and people putting off their retirement.
In conversations about healthcare, have stories of chronic illness and
prescriptions that aren't covered but desperately needed.
But where social capital really adds up isn't in answer to public questions –
it's when we realize that if we needed something and we were willing to ask,
we've got people. People with experience, people with wisdom, people ready and
waiting and more than willing to help.
We have social capital because we value community.