Rev. George Miller
June 20, 2025
2 Peter 1:1-4
“You want to be seen? You want to be heard? What difference will that make?”
That is a question posed at General Synod when
the STAR Resolution, meant to lift up and celebrate the ministry of small town
and rural UCC churches, was approved.
Out of 671 voting delegates, 55 chose to
abstain, 244 voted no, 372 said yes.
Though the Resolution was approved, it’s
bittersweet.
244 peers think that UCC churches in small
town and rural communities are not worthy of being seen or heard, and we’re up
to something nefarious.
This is partly due to the lingering stereotype
some people have about small towns and rural communities.
Not everyone understands the nuances of tight-knit
community living. It’s also a result of
the taut emotional, political times we’ve been living in in which deep down everyone
is scared, and worried, and not trusting.
Though the STAR Steering Committee is
composed of 4 people identifying as LGBTQ, 2 members who are Hispanic, some are
afraid that STAR has a racist, anti-LGBTQ agenda out to whitewash the National
UCC Website.
After the vote, a woman came to me and
said “You want to be seen? You want to
be heard? What difference will that make? What power, what authority is
that going to give you?” When trying to
respond, she cut me off and walked away.
This is all so sad because of the love,
joy, purity put into creating the Resolution.
None of that could be understood by people who were harboring deep
pain, worried fears.
The good news is now that the STAR
Resolution has passed, the people, pastors, and all the ministries that make up
the UCC can come together each month and learn how we can all transform the
world.
Regardless if we serve a big city, a busy
suburb or a small town trying to put together a PRIDE or 4th of July
parade.
Having a voice. Having a presence. Being heard. Being seen.
They all matter.
Regardless if you are a child on the
chancel with Michelle, or an adult in the choir loft being directed by Linda.
Regardless if you are part of Women with a Mission or one
of the men playing Dart Ball.
Doesn’t matter if you identify as gay or
straight, if you need a cane to come in the door or you can walk just fine, if
you are worshipping with us online, or right here right now-
We all, everyone one of us, want to
be seen, want to be heard, want to know that what we do matters, is appreciated.
This is one key to ministry- that every
person here and online has their own struggle, their own worries,
their own unique situation is dictated by age,
ability, finances, where you live, your history, your hopes, your regrets,
those who surround you, and those you miss.
When someone says “They want to be seen,
they want to be heard,” it means they feel as if no one is.
Instead of berating them or diminishing their
experiences, we can say “Tell me. I am willing to see; able to hear."
After all, that is part of today’s reading,
a letter to the church.
The author makes it clear- the people
being addressed are very special, very dear.
They have been given a gift so valuable- a
relationship with God and one another, filled with grace, calm, knowledge.
Not just a little, but an abundance. More than enough for everybody.
The author says to them “Hey- I see you, I
know you. You are a people aligned with
God’s deep goodness.”
“You are people who live heaven here
on earth. You bravely offer love. Your
choices come from compassion.”
The author says “Hey- the age we live in
is complex. There are systems in place
that can lead us towards being too greedy, too ego-trapped, too willing to
exploit another.”
Noting this self-destructive behavior, the
author states “Remember who you are.”
“You are full of the Divine. You are beyond precious. YOU are the promise that God made to Abraham
on that lonely, starry night.”
How awesome is that.
We have been given great promises and love,
from God.
We belong to a family built around Christ
in which it is about living with joy, living with purpose, living in light.
Not because you currently live in a Big
City or lived in the country, or you came from another Country. Not because you are white collar, blue
collar, in the fields, or retired.
But because you are YOU and within you
dwells all that grace, all that peace, all that knowledge, and all those
promises that the God has been making since Creation.
And all that Jesus embodied from the
manger to the mountain, from the table to the cross, from the Resurrection to
the Upper Room?
Thanks to the Holy Spirit that all dwells
within you too.
What an amazing gift we give when we learn
to see and hear ourselves as God already does.
Because when we do, we can also see and
hear those around us, making heaven here on earth.
Amen.
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