From the Pulpit

Excerpts from messages being presented at area places of worship this weekend.

Rabbi Mordechai Levin, Beth El Synagogue

Torah (Pentateuch) study is an unending undertaking. Every week during the year, we read a different section of the text; after concluding the annual cycle of readings, we begin a new cycle. This week we start reading the Torah from the beginning, with the story of creation (Genesis 1-3).

This story is not intended as a scientific treatise; rather, the biblical creation narrative is a document of faith. It enunciates some important postulates of Judaism, and offers important teachings about human beings and our world. Let us consider a few of them.

First: God created the universe. This implies that only God has complete ownership over the earth. We do not have unrestricted liberty to abuse the environment, as it does not belong to us. We must care for the earth, both for ourselves and those with whom we co-exist, and also for future generations.

Second: Human beings are created in the image of God. Our common origins must contribute to human harmony. No person can claim to have come from ancestors nobler than or superior to another’s. Human beings have special characteristics and dignity that no other creatures possess. They have infinite value and uniqueness.

Barry L. Vennard, minister, Unity Church of Omaha

The God That Is

Many, if not most, of the concepts of God that currently inform Christianity emerged thousands of years ago when the Earth was believed to be the flat center of the universe; the sky was thought to be a dome and God, the Creator Being, existed on the other side of the dome in a dimension called Heaven. Hell existed under the earth as a place of eternal fire created to punish unrepentant sinners and nonbelievers. Since then we have discovered that the earth is not flat, that it orbits the sun, that our sun is a minor star in a galaxy of trillions of stars, and that our small galaxy is just one of billions of galaxies in an expanding 13.7 billion-year-old evolving universe.

These deep space/time discoveries along with the overwhelming evidence that biological life, including human beings, evolved from single-cell organisms has caused many people to question or reject religion and the God idea altogether — the God that was.

Yet, there is a directional, creative principle at the heart of the evolving universe and the evolution of life on our planet. It expresses itself in the evolution of ever more complex relationships. When these relationships are “mutually enhancing,” they produce experiences that human beings crave — love! It’s this creative potential of love that Jesus referred to when he said the Kingdom of Heaven was within (or among) us. It’s a transformative spiritual experience of this inner presence of God as the evolutionary impulse of love that fulfills us and makes the Kingdom possible. It’s an experience of “The God That Is” — a God that lives within us and seeks to create the Kingdom through us.

Monsignor James Gilg, St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church

Scripture: Mark 10:35-45

Frequently in our early days of formation our parents and teachers urge us to set our goals as high as possible and pursue excellence in every way. And we were always happy when we were able to meet these challenges or achieve significant victories in our competitive efforts. So we continue to “race to the top” in various ways throughout our lives.

Recognizing this need to succeed, we can sympathize with the desire of James and John in the Gospel today to sit at the right and left of Jesus in the future days of glory. On the one hand, their desire seems to be very self-serving, but on the other hand, they are much like all of us in wanting to reach the prize. But, as Jesus says to them, “You do not know what you are asking.”

Rising to the top for disciples of Jesus is much different than rising to the top in the ways of the world. Spiritual growth and success are achieved in direct contrast to other efforts of advancement in our human experience. Greatness in the Kingdom of God comes with humble service and sacrifice for the sake of others. As Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.” We pray for God’s grace to enable us to make even little steps of progress in this lifetime effort.

The Rev. Matt Nieman, First Presbyterian Church, Bellevue

Reality is that, while we’d all like to live in an ideal world, things just don’t work out that way. And when our real world is less than ideal, we feel disappointed and our relationships suffer.

The mercy of God resides for us during all stretches of our lives. In rough spots and during times of great success and joy, God is constant in God’s care and forgiveness. And more often than not, we live in imperfect worlds — filled with unexpected downturns, busyness, and rocky stretches. Still, God is present and merciful, and it is up to us to love each other in response to that great mercy.

The apostle Paul urges us to present ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. And that means loving each other amidst conditions that are not ideal.

It means, in the chaos of our world, doing unto others as you would have them do unto you — as hard as that may seem. It means forgiving somebody for something that was terribly hurtful or painful. It means, with God’s help, living faithfully together.

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