Photo credit: Ricardo Gomez Angel, used with permission via Unsplash
Let’s begin this morning’s exploration of scripture with the passage from 1 Corinithians. It may be one of the most important statements of our Christian faith- a foundation to all that we are and live. But, Paul, with his lovely first century rhetoric gives us a convoluted, inverse, difficult-to-understand statement.
[For those of you who, like me, grew up in the world of science, it is like a null hypothesis. The Khan Academy website defines a null hypothesis this way: The null hypothesis is often stated as the assumption that there is no change, no difference between two groups, or no relationship between two variables. So if you see a difference in your results, then you disprove your hypothesis and make a conclusion that something in your experiment shows a change because of what you were testing.
So, for example, you might make a null hypothesis that sugar makes no difference in making bread dough rise. You then test a recipe that is the same in all other ways except one recipe is prepared with sugar and one without sugar. When the dough with sugar in the recipe rises more quickly than the one without sugar, your null hypothesis is disproved because you have seen a difference between the two, and you can make a scientifically sound conclusion that sugar helps bread dough rise more quickly.]
In our passage from 1 Corinthians, Paul is [likewise] using a negative argument to prove a positive point. He is apparently arguing with some who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead- a “hot-button” theological issue in the Jewish communities of his time.
In our worship team meeting this week, Pastor Scott offered a reading of 1 Cor 15:12-20 that turns around Paul’s negative couching and sets it in positive terms. With gratitude to Pastor Scott, here is a positive setting of these verses.
We’ll begin with verse 20 and revisit 12-19.
20 In fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.
12 Since Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 Because there is resurrection of the dead, then Christ has been raised 14 and since Christ has been raised, then our proclamation is NOT in vain and your faith is NOT in vain 15 We are even found to be truly representing God, because we testified of God that God raised Christ--whom God did raise if it is true that the dead are raised. 16 For if the dead are raised, then Christ has been raised. 17 Therefore since Christ has been raised, your faith is NOT futile, and you are no longer in your sins. 18 Then also those who have died in Christ have NOT perished. 19 If for not only this life we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people the most to be found rejoicing.
Our proclamation of life ever new, our faith in the power of Life that overcomes death, our freedom from the binding of sinfulness is not a fallacy, because Christ has been raised from the dead! Along with Paul and the first century Christians, along with all those who have shared Christian faith from one generation to the next through millennia, we make this proclamation every Sunday in our Assurance of Grace. This is a foundation of our faith. It is a living foundation that lets us flourish like a tree planted by water.
Like a tree planted by water, or in the words of the prophet Jeremiah- like a tree transplanted by water. Jeremiah ends the tirade of curse and blessing that we heard this morning with the image of a tree flourishing, vibrant and green, spreading out its roots to the water it needs to thrive in the wilderness. The Hebrew word שָׁת֣וּ (shatu) for “planted,” also means “transplanted.” It implies a change from a location where it was not thriving to a location where it is able to thrive. It is a prophet’s word of hope to the people of Israel who have been subject to empires trampling through their lives- Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon all fighting for control over the land and economies of the tribal communities of Israel and others.
In their commentary on today's scripture passage from Jermiah, self-described Black, Christian, faith-rooted strategist, and spiritual activist Casey Overton describes Jeremiah’s words of curse and blessing this way. “We are reading a prophetic tradition confronting the nightmare in which the people are already cursed, withered, despoiled, and barren - the prophet left with the monumental task of not only trying to explain but to furthermore repair an act of imperialist chaotic evil over which the Israelites had minimal control.”
Our lives sometimes bring us to times that we feel like the shrub in the wilderness- overwhelmed by the conditions in which we are dwelling, unable to perceive or experience relief. We can feel dislocated from our source of blessing, our devious or perverse or disheartened hearts distracted from God’s love which is present and working in our lives. In this month’s celebration of Black History, I want to invite us into flourishing with some encouragement from the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s.
I don’t know about you, but what I learned about the Civil Rights Movement in school- some of you have real life experience of it- suggested that activists were always out on the streets marching, or sitting-in, or sitting down, or riding on buses together, or walking instead of riding on buses. The people who participated in the Civil Rights Movement seemed to be always on the move, always demonstrating the dignity of African Americans and demanding equal rights in our national and local economy and politics. When I read Rosemarie Freeney Harding and Rachel Elizabeth Hardings’s Remnants: A Memoir of Spirit, Activism, and Mothering, I learned that the movement was more complex than that (isn’t it always!) Rosemarie Freeley Harding and her husband Vincent Harding were Black Mennonites tasked by the Mennonite Central Committee to be a presence in the Southern Freedom Movement. They moved from Chicago to Atlanta to establish a voluntary service unit and join those who were already organizing for racial justice there. They opened Mennonite House where Black and white volunteer workers lived, gathered, debated, ate, and reflected together on what was happening in the movement and the world around them. Rosemarie Freeley Harding wrote, “It was even an urban retreat space of sorts, a space of welcome for activists who needed safe haven … Mennonite House was a place where movement people came who needed a retreat, a little rest and distance from the front lines. They were depressed by what they had experienced, or just exhausted and feeling discouraged.”
How heartened I was that, like me, even outstanding, upstanding, committed people in the Civil Rights Movement also felt ebbs and flows of courage, energy, and capacity to be engaged in their justice work! They weren’t always in the streets or singing in jail or fully engaged in the work of righting wrongs. Movement people also felt overwhelmed at times. They came to Mennonite House to dwell in supportive community, to come out of the degradation, parchedness, and fruitlessness they were experiencing in their lives so that they could be refreshed like a tree planted by a river that spreads its roots out to the cool, running water.
The promise of Life that is stronger than death, the promise of blessing and fruitful life when all we can see are desolate conditions- that is the promise of faith that we have inherited from generations of God’s people.
I want to take a little time this morning to explore how we can live more fully into refreshment for our spirits, how we can live like a tree transplanted by water.
At the beginning of the year, Pastor Scott offered us seven spiritual practices that can help us ground and center down into our faith, that can help us find our roots at the Source of Living Water. Today, I am offering four more practices, additional tools for our spiritual toolkit, to help us find the nourishment we need to flourish and thrive no matter what the conditions around us may be. Sometimes our hearts may try to trick us into believing that we are in a place in our lives where we can’t flourish. The Spirit of God in Christ is always our LifeSource, always a spring of Living Water at our roots, offering refreshment and new life.
Let’s take a moment together to remember or imagine what it feels like when we experience how God is offering us new life, always bringing us toward thriving and flourishing. I invite you to take a deep breath, to feel your feet on the floor, to feel the pew you are sitting on, to notice the quality of light in the room, notice the people around you who are sharing this space with you, in person or online. Now, I invite you to remember a time when you experienced wellbeing or imagine what wellbeing might feel like. You are welcome to close your eyes if you like. Perhaps you feel a sense of rightness with the world, perhaps deep peace, or radiant joy. Perhaps it is a deep, contented stillness, or an exuberant, energetic dance energy. This experience may well be influenced by what is or was going on in your life at the time, but does not depend solely or even mostly on that.
If you have space where you are, I invite you into a gentle movement, like tree branches moving in the wind, or tree roots stretching out to the water. Those of us who are extroverted in personality may be excited by the opportunity to engage with the space around us, and those of us who are introverts may be thinking, no thank you, I am more comfortable keeping my experience within myself! However you are, find your way to a remembered or imagined sense of wellbeing. When you have this sense of wellbeing in memory or imagination- let it touch you in heart, mind, body, and spirit. (pause, breathe, rest) Feel a sense of wellbeing settle into your heart, ease your mind, move through your body, and refresh your spirit. If your eyes have been closed, I invite you to open them and bring your awareness back to this space that we share.
When we engage our spiritual practices, let’s use this sense of wellbeing for ourselves and our world to guide what helps us be grounded and flourish in God’s love. As you try out new spiritual practices or return to old ones, see which practices are most helpful to you to bring you into that experience of wellbeing, rooted in God’s refreshment and nourishment.
Here are some concrete practices from Nancy Reeves’ book Spirituality for Extroverts (and Tips For Those who LoveThem) that may help you move into a sense of wellbeing:
The practice of
1) spiritual friendship- reaching out to support one another by sharing a meal or a heartfelt-heartlistening conversation of caring or praying together. We do this as we gather in our small groups through the week online and in-person, and you may want to establish a new or renewed intentional practice to do this with neighbors and friends, or even strangers, on a regular basis.
2) singing! This is a spiritual practice that we share in community here in worship, in our congregational hymns, the choral anthem and benediction, and our prayer song. It is also a practice that you can engage in by yourself. I invite you to seek out music you can sing with this week that lifts your spirit and brings you into the refreshment God faithfully offers.
The spiritual practice of
3) praying in nature, where you can be aware of the beauty of God’s Creation and how it tells God’s glory and care for God’s world. You can do this as you tend your garden and yard, your bushes and trees, or our natural environment; you can do it in company with others or by yourself.
4) movement- dancing, riding, walking, or running with the awareness of how Christ accompanies you. You can do this alone or with a friend or with an animal companion. Make your dance or walk or run or bicycle ride an intentional time to be present with and nourished by God.
A labyrinth experience can also be a spiritual practice of movement. There is a labyrinth you can walk on the Seminary campus across the street, at the top of the hill, on the terrace outside Stewart Chapel. There is also a labyrinth on the grounds of Christ Presbyterian Church in Terra Linda that is available to the public and doesn't require climbing to the top of the hill!
Also, in your words and music sheet this morning, you will find a small, simple labyrinth that you can trace with a writing implement or even just your finger. In the inward and outward motion as you engage the labyrinth, let your intention be to open to God’s loving care, guidance, and refreshment for you.
Spiritual friendship, singing, praying in nature, and movement are a few of the spiritual practices Reeves offers in her book. As you try out new or old spiritual practices, some will fit you well, and some will not suit. Some of us will find that experiences of joy and surges of fresh energy are what we need to feel renewed and restored; others of us will need to seek further for a deeper sense of rightness and wellbeing. I invite you this morning to make the commitment to discover what refreshes your spirit, to find what renews your sense of wellbeing and rightness in the world. No matter what our life brings us, no matter what the conditions of our world may be, in God’s power-with-us rather than over-us, in Christ’s ever-sustaining Life, in the Spirit’s Presence with us, we are like trees planted by water, flourishing with vibrant life and new growth.
Thanks be to the Triune God, now and always! Alleluia, Amen!!
© 2025 Dvera Hadden
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