By Joanna Lawrence Shenk

Psalm 34:1-8

I want to begin my sermon today with a mini “breaking open the word.” We’ll just do one round reflecting on what words or phrases jump out as you hear the text? I will also put it in the chat box.

I will bless the Divine always;
praise will continually be on my lips!
My soul will boast about YHWH—
let the oppressed hear it and be glad!
Glorify the Divine with me,
and let us exalt God’s Name together!
I sought the Lord, who answered me
and freed me from all my fears.
Those who look to the Divine are radiant,
and their faces are never covered with shame.
The poor called out; YHWH heard
and saved them from all their troubles.
The angel of God encamps around those 
who revere God, and rescues them.
Taste and see how good God is!
Happiness comes to those who take refuge in the Divine. 

By Joanna Lawrence Shenk

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

It is good to be back home and with you all this morning… One of the greatest joys of my time with family was getting to know my bouncy three year old nephew Henry. I spent a week with him in Cincinnati and then took him with me for most of a week to my parents house in Goshen, along with his 7 older cousins. During these weeks Henry’s vocabulary exploded. 

He has an especially interesting vocabulary since my brother Andy speaks only to him in Russian. While in Goshen, I was also his go-to adult. We spent a lot of time playing together since he was sometimes overwhelmed by all the energy and attention of the older cousins. 

By Joanna Lawrence Shenk

Deut. 5:12-15

Growing up there were things I always expected to happen (or not happen) on Sundays. My Mom would tune the radio to the Christian program called Sunday Praise while we were getting ready for church. Then we would all pile into the van and tumble out at church, taking our usual spot in the front row. After church we would have a home-cooked meal and maybe a guest would join us. I think in the afternoon we usually played board games or did something as a family (we did have a TV, so TV watching was always off the table). No one went to the store because shopping was not allowed. The day would conclude with lots of stovetop popcorn for dinner.

By Joanna Lawrence Shenk

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Happy Pentecost! I imagine that most of us are familiar with the Pentecost story as told in Acts. It’s an exciting one, with wind and fire and miracles! The disciples are hiding away and then the Holy Spirit, like a rushing wind, fills the room they are in. The Spirit, like a fire, empowers them to share the good news of the resurrection publicly, and in many different languages and throngs of people join their movement. Christians often talk about Pentecost as the birth of the church. 

Last time I preached on Pentecost, two years ago, I learned about the Jewish holiday Shavuot. This holiday, observed seven weeks after Passover, was the reason why people from so many places were in Jerusalem. Shavuot is a celebration of God giving the Torah to the Hebrew people at Mt. Sinai. It is a celebration of Divine revelation. 

By Joanna Lawrence Shenk

Psalm 4

Answer me when I call, God of my justice!
Give me relief from my distress!
Have mercy!
Hear my prayer!

How long will you people dishonor me before God?
How long will you love delusion and pursue lies?
Know that those who love YHWH
have been set apart by divine will—
YHWH will hear me when I call!

Tremble, and stop your sinning;
search your heart,
alone and silent in your room.
Offer sacrifices of justice,
and put your trust in YHWH.

So many are asking,
“Does good even exist anymore?”
Let the light of your face, YHWH, shine on us!

You put joy in my heart—
a joy greater than being full
of bread and new wine.

In peace I’ll lie down;
in peace I will sleep:
for you alone, YHWH,
keep me perfectly safe.

This is the first sermon in our Lent series, “Shadow Dancing: Pulling Back the Veil.”

Matthew 4:1-11

I have a confession to make.  A few months ago, I became aware that the 20th anniversary of my tenure as pastor here was coming up. It felt important to me to mark that anniversary in some way, but I also knew that probably no one else in the congregation knew this anniversary was coming. So in a recent pastoral staff meeting, I kind of sheepishly said to Joanna and Pat that my 20th was coming and that I kind of wanted some acknowledgement of it. It didn’t have to be a big deal, I said — in fact, I didn’t want a big deal — but just some acknowledgement.

I was surprised at how hard it was for me to ask for this.  I felt this shame creeping up in me as I made the request. And I even felt the shame during the week before the celebration Sunday, as I heard little glimmers of what was going to happen and knew it was going to be quite a bigger deal than I had anticipated. 

By Rev. Kamal Hassan

Rev. Hassan was our guest preacher on Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday 2021. Rev. Hassan is the pastor of Sojourner Truth Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Calif. He is a powerfully gifted preacher and Christian educator whose message is rooted in the African American prophetic tradition. He is a community organizer who has toiled for decades in low-wealth communities of color for social justice. Read more of his bio here. 

Luke 4:22-30

Claim: Jesus and Dr Martin Luther King Jr were inconvenient heroes

I. We Re-Call Dr Martin Luther King Jr with Dr Vincent Harding

A. A Chaplin of the Empire

B. A prophet of justice

II. The shape of prophetic ministry

Not the Dream in Washington, but the Sermon on the Mount

Greatly honored are the destitute

Greatly honored are the mourners

Greatly honored are the humbled

Greatly honored are the those who are famished and parched for justice

Greatly honored are those who show mercy

Greatly honored are the pure in heart

Greatly honored are the peace makers

Greatly honored are those who have been persecuted for the sake of justice

Greatly honored are you when you put your honor on the line for Christ’s sake

By Joanna Lawrence Shenk

Matthew 2:1-12

We made it! It’s 2021! Finally! I mean it was the strangest New Years Eve ever, but that’s how 2020 rolled. I imagine we rang in the new year in lots of creative ways. For example, I did handstands with some friends over Zoom. With the new year under our belt, we move into the season of Epiphany. 

Within the Christian tradition Epiphany celebrates the Light of divine revelation. It is a revealing of Divine presence with all people. The visit of the magi is a sign of God’s presence in all places, as they came from far away to honor a baby messiah. They were guided by a great light in the heavens to find a light-bearer. This revealing of the light-bearer we call Jesus, also revealed the shadows of the reality in which he lived. 

By Joanna Lawrence Shenk

John 1:6-8, 19-28

It’s the third Sunday of Advent, which is traditionally the Sunday to rejoice in our waiting, and a pink candle is often lit to symbolize this. So far this advent we have talked about what it means to live in kairos time, which is the new age of liberation. This new age is always at odds with the old age of domination. We’ve also reflected on how we’re not just waiting for a baby to be born, but we’re expecting a spirit-filled movement of liberation, and we’re a part of it! We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. 

The question this Sunday is about how we’re witnessing or testifying to that movement. Later in the sermon I will actually make space for us to share out where we see the new age of liberation breaking forth right now. So you can be thinking of examples. 

Our gospel text this morning begins thus, “Then came one named John, sent as an envoy from God, who came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through this testimony everyone might believe.” In this telling of the story John is not emphasized as the baptizer, instead he is the witness. He is testifying to the Light.

This sermon, by Joanna Lawrence Shenk, was given on the Second Sunday of Advent during our worship series, “Wilderness and Womb: We are the Ones Being Born.” The scripture text is Mark 1:1-8.

We are the ones being born. I love this thought put forward by Worship Committee in planning our Advent series. It’s also beautifully depicted on our bulletin cover. Amidst the chaos of our world, we are claiming new birthings of Spirit, and we are joining in that birthing process. So if we are the ones being born this Advent, does it follow that we are also the ones we have been waiting for? 

I’m sure many, if not all of us, have heard this iconic statement, attributed to the Jamaican American poet and educator June Jordan in her 1978 piece titled “Poem For South African Women.” This statement also appeared in a Hopi Elders’ Prophecy in the year 2000. Sweet Honey in the Rock put it to music. Books have been written by that title, and it was something the late Vincent Harding would remind people of often in their movement work. “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

By Outreach Committee

Background: Over the last couple years the Outreach Committee has begun the practice of drafting a vision document to highlight the work of our congregation in the world. Part of our role as a committee is to take a step back and notice all of these efforts and hold them up for others to see. This year our vision document is titled “Relief, Reimagining, Rebirth” as we look at the ways our congregation has been responding to the multiple crises we have faced and are facing. 

If you are interested to see our past documents, which are connected the FMCSF Core Values and Practices, you can find them here:

Outreach Committee 2017: Strategies and Tactics

Outreach Committee 2018: Mennofesto

Relief, Reimagining and Rebirth resonate with the Outreach committee as we examine the work of FMCSF in the world during this time. 

At present we know that so many people are hungry, scared they will lose their homes, and terrified for the health of their loved ones, due to covid, air quality or ongoing social isolation. Many people, within our congregation and beyond it, need immediate relief to buy food, pay rent, get medical care, or experience human connection. 

Also during this time, we are having to learn new ways of being. Teachers, children and young adults are reimagining the foundations of education in their schools and universities. All of us who are isolated, but especially vulnerable populations, will need to reimagine our social connections during physical distancing.

Reimagining our existence during this pandemic is scary because it is a recognition that we are living in a new reality. And at the same time, reimagining in this new reality also presents us with many hopeful, creative and transformative possibilities. 

Like our new zoom church services, we need to reimagine every part of our lives as we live them now, for however long that will be. We need to reimagine housing in an equitable way (especially for those on the streets), an economic system that values the most vulnerable (including creation), how we work together, and even right now, how we endure the reality of wildfires and lack of fresh air.

What we hope for most as a faith community is rebirth from this societal upheaval. We hope that during this time of deep need, these months of contemplation and isolation, each of us — and our community of faith collectively — are building the capacity to dream of and work towards a different world than the one we left. We want a rebirth of our economy and society that removes the faultlines and divisions laid bare by the crisis. We want a rebirth that awakens everyone to the interconnectedness of all people. We want a rebirth into the beloved community.

Our work at this time must encompass all stages. Relief, reimagining, and rebirth are all happening simultaneously and are all of equal value to our present moment and our future existence. Below is a non-comprehensive list of what our community is already doing in these three stages. We invite you to contemplate where you are drawn to put your energy at this moment.

Relief: 

Maria Elena Fund

Sharing Fund

Go Fund Me for Ross

Providing meals

Sojourner Truth Deacon’s Fund

Funds for undocumented people

Making masks

Prayer

Working to get out the vote and end voter suppression

Seeking economic justice through saying Yes to Prop 15 and No to Prop 22

Reimagining: 

Making masks for every occasion!

Neighborhood Care Groups

Virtual Church Life (which has included increased accessibility, among other things)

Reparations Procession

Supporting rent strikes

Demanding hotels be made available to people on the streets

Questioning housing as a commodity and advocating to keep seniors in their homes

Rebirth: 

Giving reparations 

Advocating for mental health response professionals as an alternative to policing

Supporting efforts to defund the police (presence at George Floyd rallies, etc.)

Claiming democracy and preparing to stop a coup if necessary 

Winning housing subsidies for seniors in SF

We celebrate all these efforts of relief, reimagining and rebirth among us! We recognize that we’re not all drawn to the same actions or efforts, and that is the beauty of being part of the community. Know that any work that gives relief to those in need now, reimagines how we live during this pandemic, or lays the groundwork for the rebirth of our society is valuable at this moment, right now. The idea that we will return fully to the world before, can and should be put to rest because it is not possible or desirable. We want a new world, a world closer to God’s kingdom, to replace that old world. And now is the best time to start building it.