6/15/25 – Trinity Sunday                                         

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Now the word of God came to me saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born I consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Then I said, “Oh, God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But, God said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a boy,’

for you shall go to all to whom I send you,

and you shall speak whatever I command you.

Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says your God.”

Then God put out their hand and touched my mouth, and said to me,

“Now I have put my words in your mouth.

See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,

to pluck up and to pull down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.”

Jeremiah 7:1-11

The word that came to Jeremiah from God: “Stand in the gate of God’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of God, all you people of Judah, you who enter these gates to worship. Thus says the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: “This is the temple of God, the temple of God, the temple of God.”

For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors forever and ever.

Here you are, trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, “We are safe!”—only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your sight? I, too, am watching, says our God.”

UCC Polity

I am going to be leaving in about a month to attend General Synod, as a representative of the Montana-Northern Wyoming Conference of the United Church of Christ. General Synod is the national meeting of our church, and conferences get to send a number of delegates based on how many people are in that conference. Being one of the smallest conferences, we only get to send two. Most conferences are made up of associations, a lower level of organization that would handle some of the things that need to get done in the wider church. If you think of a conference is like a state, then the associations would be the counties, and the individual congregations would be the cities. But, because there are only 26 churches in our conference, we don’t have associations, or more accurately, we just have one. This means that our conference has to take care of all of the things that the associations would typically take care of, and all of the things that a conference has to take care of.

General Synod used to happen every two years, but due to budgetary constraints, we voted last year to meet every three years instead. This coming meeting with be the start of that three-year cycle.

It was a change that we just had to make, as the UCC, like almost every other denomination, has been shrinking over the last few decades. It’s unfortunate, because it will become more difficult to maintain our relationships with each other, as a denomination, and it was already difficult, because of our governmental structure, which is congregational.

We don’t have bishops that are in charge of which priests serve where, and who provide oversight for what’s happening at the local church. That form of government is very hierarchical: the bishops have archbishops over them, and then someone like a pope oversees the whole thing. You could compare that form of government to a monarchy.

The UCC doesn’t have a representative form of government, either, like the Presbyterian or Reformed Churches, although we do send representatives to the national meeting, which is what I will be doing next month. The difference is that in a presbyterian system, the ruling elders truly rule. Whatever decision that representative body makes becomes the rule for the entire denomination. But, when our denomination meets and makes a decision, any so-called rulings we make that might apply to the individual congregations are guidance, rather than rules. I don’t want to say “simply” guidance, or “only” guidance, because these decisions are important, and they represent our denomination as a whole. But, in a congregational setting, the congregations govern themselves, which means no one is going to force the individual congregations to comply.

So, if there isn’t a single person or governing body that’s in charge of the whole denomination, what is it that even makes us a denomination? What makes us the UCC, and why would individual congregations say that they are a part of the United Church of Christ? As with all congregational churches, it comes down to belief, and philosophy. The United Church of Christ is a denomination based on covenants, which are mutual agreements between two or more parties, to care for and to support each other. The covenantal nature of our denomination reflects our relationship with God, and the nature of the Trinity, God as three persons. No party forces the other to do anything. Instead, it’s a relationship based on love, trust, and respect.

Being in covenant also means being held accountable for one’s actions. Ministers in the UCC are expected to serve others, to be an example of a life led according to the teachings of Christ, and to assist others on their own spiritual journeys. The UCC is expected to provide ministers with support and guidance when needed. This covenantal structure ensures that ministers are able to do the work that God has called them to do.

The purpose of all of this is to provide a stable and nurturing base from which all members of the UCC can reach out into the world to do God’s work, and to be an example of a loving Christian community. We are the body of Christ, God’s eyes, ears, and hands in the world. It is our responsibility to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and help those in need. Our covenants with each other mean nothing if we are not working towards a more just and loving humanity.

In 2016, the UCC Board of Directors adopted these three statements:

Purpose Statement (from the Gospel of Matthew):

         To love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves.

 

Vision Statement:

         United in Christ’s love, a just world for all.

 

Mission Statement:

         United in Spirit and inspired by God’s grace, we welcome all, love all, and seek justice for all.

 

So, if you are claiming to be a member of the UCC, you are basically saying that you agree with those statements, because that is what the denomination stands for. No one is going to force you to agree with them, but why would you stay with an organization that you don’t believe in, anyway?

In our reading today, Jeremiah is delivering God’s word to the people of the temple. “Hear the word of God, all you people of Judah, you who enter these gates to worship. Thus says the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you in this place… if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors forever and ever.”

The church can’t just be whatever we want it to be, or at least a Christian church can’t just be whatever we want it to be. God sent Jeremiah to that temple because the people were using the temple, using God’s name, to hide behind after doing bad things in the community. God asks them, through Jeremiah, “Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are safe!’” We can’t just do whatever we want, hurt whoever we want, and then come to church and think that makes it all okay. That’s not what being a Christian is. Being a Christian means being a follower of Christ – reflecting on what Jesus said, and putting it into action in our lives.

You may have noticed we have our own mission statement, as Plymouth Congregational Church: Plymouth’s Mission is to nurture our congregation and the wider community with acts of love and a vision of God’s image in all things. We print it at the end of the worship guide, every week. No one is going to force you to live up to this mission statement, but if you’re going to claim to be a part of this community, just know that this is the stance that we have taken. This is what we represent. We take care of each other. We take care of our neighbors. We do this with acts of love, and by recognizing that God is within everyone and everything.

It can be incredibly frustrating to operate from a place of love and logic in our world right now. But, we have to try. We have to keep going. Because that’s what it means to be a Christian. That’s what it means to be a follower of Christ. It is our job to hold everything together with our love, with all of our strength, with all of our heart, mind, and soul. God is asking us to do this. Which means that we can, because otherwise, God wouldn’t ask. You are the salt and light of the world. You are the church. Amen.

~ Rev. Charles Wei