Welcome Sunday, September 7, 2025
First Congregational Church of Cheshire
© the Rev. Dr. James Campbell
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall certainly perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him, for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
I am old enough to have been parented with some very different methods than those practiced today. Of course, I’m talking about the occasional spanking. And I’m old enough to have attended school during a time when teachers also occasionally administered corporal punishment. In fact, I have a very clear memory of my fifth-grade classroom and the large paddle that hung on the wall near Mr. Miller’s desk, emblazoned with the words: “The Board of Education.”
And so, it was, that every year, on the morning of the first day of school, my mother would sit me down and give me a good talking to. And her speech went something like this: “Jimmy, I love you. Study hard. Don’t get into any trouble. But if you do, I have given your teacher permission to paddle your behind… and once you get home, you’ll get it again.” And then she would smile, give me a kiss, hand me my lunch, and send me on my way.
Whatever you think of her methods, at this point in my life, I realize that what my mother really wanted was for me to avoid those things that, in the end, would cause me far more pain than a spanking. My mother wanted me to succeed. She wanted me to make good choices. She wanted me to choose life.
Once upon a time there was another parent, also ready to send his children off into an unknown future. And Father Moses wanted the children of Israel to also make good choices. You will remember that Moses has led the children of Israel for a very long time, bringing them out of slavery in Egypt, establishing their community, receiving the Law of God on Mount Sinai, and leading them at last to the verge of the Promised Land.
But it had taken them quite a while to get there. Because people are people! And, like us, they did not always choose wisely in that desert. And the result of their bad choices had been forty years of wandering around.
But now that time of wandering was over. And they stood on the threshold of an exciting new beginning. But Father Moses would not go with them. You see, at 120, he was about to die. But he still had enough life in him to give them one last good talking to before they set off into the future.
And this is what he said: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. So choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying God, and holding fast to God; for that means life to you…” Choose life.
It’s so wonderful to see you all again after our summer travels. I love Welcome Sunday, but Welcome Sunday, at least for me, always sort of feels like the first day of school. And just like the first day of school, I always come to this day with a mixture of exhilaration and a little dread – exhilaration because of all that could be… dread because of all that might be. And our choices have everything to do with how this all turns out.
Because this year, like every year, we will be asked, in myriad ways, as individuals and as a congregation, which side of history we will be on. We will be asked, in myriad ways, whether we love justice and mercy more than power and privilege. We will be asked, again and again and again, to choose love or fear, peace or provocation, people or politics.
You see, we are no different than the children of Israel. And the Lord sets before us life and death, blessings and curses. And God invites us to choose life and those things that make for life, as a witness to the God of life.
Some years ago, Marcos and I were spending our last week of summer vacation up in Ogunquit, Maine, one of our favorite places. It was a Sunday morning, and no, to answer your question, we were not in church. We were in the dining room of a lovely bed and breakfast enjoying a slow start to the day. At some point, Marcos excused himself and I was suddenly all alone in that dining room, really enjoying the silence, the solitude, and a second muffin.
Suddenly, one of the owners of the bed and breakfast sat down across the table from me and greeted me with an especially cheery “Hello!” Inwardly, I groaned. But outwardly, I smiled, and said “Good Morning.” And we started to chat.
Eventually, he got around to my least favorite question. He asked me what I did for a living. Didn’t he know I was on vacation?! But the truth is, I don’t really like that question anytime, not because I am ashamed of what I do, but because when I tell people I am a pastor, I assume that they will assume that I am the kind of person that I am not, with opinions I don’t have, and theology that is not mine, and a narrowness I rejected a long time ago.
Now I could have just said what I sometimes do: “I work for a non-profit.” But instead, I just came out with it: “I am the Pastor of a UCC congregation.”
I braced myself for that inevitable look of puzzlement or disdain that I have seen a thousand times before. But not this time! This time, the man broke out into a great, big smile. And the next thing I knew, he reached his hand across the table to shake mine, while he exclaimed: “Oh… I love the UCC! Your church is so welcoming! And what’s that thing you say, “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you’re welcome here?” I love that! Those words are so full of life.”
And so were the words of our Savior Jesus, who said: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” “I am the bread of life.” “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” “I am the resurrection and the life.”
First Congregational Church of Cheshire, it’s the first day of school. And we have choices to make. In those inevitable moments that are yet to come, when we are tested and pushed and prodded, what will we choose? When doing the right thing is unpopular or labeled divisive or political, what will we choose? When people’s lives are literally on the line, what will we choose? When “Welcome” and inclusion are reserved for the few, what will we choose?
The answer is obvious. We must choose life. We must choose the way of Jesus. We must choose mercy and justice. We must choose the open door over the fortress.
And I say, this year, let’s do it boldly. Let’s do it loudly. Let’s do it proudly! Let’s be known all over Cheshire as those slightly kooky and unorthodox people on the Green who welcome absolutely everyone and who always choose life, in all its messy and magnificent diversity.
Let’s choose life!
First Congregational Church of Cheshire
© the Rev. Dr. James Campbell
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall certainly perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him, for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
I am old enough to have been parented with some very different methods than those practiced today. Of course, I’m talking about the occasional spanking. And I’m old enough to have attended school during a time when teachers also occasionally administered corporal punishment. In fact, I have a very clear memory of my fifth-grade classroom and the large paddle that hung on the wall near Mr. Miller’s desk, emblazoned with the words: “The Board of Education.”
And so, it was, that every year, on the morning of the first day of school, my mother would sit me down and give me a good talking to. And her speech went something like this: “Jimmy, I love you. Study hard. Don’t get into any trouble. But if you do, I have given your teacher permission to paddle your behind… and once you get home, you’ll get it again.” And then she would smile, give me a kiss, hand me my lunch, and send me on my way.
Whatever you think of her methods, at this point in my life, I realize that what my mother really wanted was for me to avoid those things that, in the end, would cause me far more pain than a spanking. My mother wanted me to succeed. She wanted me to make good choices. She wanted me to choose life.
Once upon a time there was another parent, also ready to send his children off into an unknown future. And Father Moses wanted the children of Israel to also make good choices. You will remember that Moses has led the children of Israel for a very long time, bringing them out of slavery in Egypt, establishing their community, receiving the Law of God on Mount Sinai, and leading them at last to the verge of the Promised Land.
But it had taken them quite a while to get there. Because people are people! And, like us, they did not always choose wisely in that desert. And the result of their bad choices had been forty years of wandering around.
But now that time of wandering was over. And they stood on the threshold of an exciting new beginning. But Father Moses would not go with them. You see, at 120, he was about to die. But he still had enough life in him to give them one last good talking to before they set off into the future.
And this is what he said: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. So choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying God, and holding fast to God; for that means life to you…” Choose life.
It’s so wonderful to see you all again after our summer travels. I love Welcome Sunday, but Welcome Sunday, at least for me, always sort of feels like the first day of school. And just like the first day of school, I always come to this day with a mixture of exhilaration and a little dread – exhilaration because of all that could be… dread because of all that might be. And our choices have everything to do with how this all turns out.
Because this year, like every year, we will be asked, in myriad ways, as individuals and as a congregation, which side of history we will be on. We will be asked, in myriad ways, whether we love justice and mercy more than power and privilege. We will be asked, again and again and again, to choose love or fear, peace or provocation, people or politics.
You see, we are no different than the children of Israel. And the Lord sets before us life and death, blessings and curses. And God invites us to choose life and those things that make for life, as a witness to the God of life.
Some years ago, Marcos and I were spending our last week of summer vacation up in Ogunquit, Maine, one of our favorite places. It was a Sunday morning, and no, to answer your question, we were not in church. We were in the dining room of a lovely bed and breakfast enjoying a slow start to the day. At some point, Marcos excused himself and I was suddenly all alone in that dining room, really enjoying the silence, the solitude, and a second muffin.
Suddenly, one of the owners of the bed and breakfast sat down across the table from me and greeted me with an especially cheery “Hello!” Inwardly, I groaned. But outwardly, I smiled, and said “Good Morning.” And we started to chat.
Eventually, he got around to my least favorite question. He asked me what I did for a living. Didn’t he know I was on vacation?! But the truth is, I don’t really like that question anytime, not because I am ashamed of what I do, but because when I tell people I am a pastor, I assume that they will assume that I am the kind of person that I am not, with opinions I don’t have, and theology that is not mine, and a narrowness I rejected a long time ago.
Now I could have just said what I sometimes do: “I work for a non-profit.” But instead, I just came out with it: “I am the Pastor of a UCC congregation.”
I braced myself for that inevitable look of puzzlement or disdain that I have seen a thousand times before. But not this time! This time, the man broke out into a great, big smile. And the next thing I knew, he reached his hand across the table to shake mine, while he exclaimed: “Oh… I love the UCC! Your church is so welcoming! And what’s that thing you say, “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you’re welcome here?” I love that! Those words are so full of life.”
And so were the words of our Savior Jesus, who said: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” “I am the bread of life.” “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” “I am the resurrection and the life.”
First Congregational Church of Cheshire, it’s the first day of school. And we have choices to make. In those inevitable moments that are yet to come, when we are tested and pushed and prodded, what will we choose? When doing the right thing is unpopular or labeled divisive or political, what will we choose? When people’s lives are literally on the line, what will we choose? When “Welcome” and inclusion are reserved for the few, what will we choose?
The answer is obvious. We must choose life. We must choose the way of Jesus. We must choose mercy and justice. We must choose the open door over the fortress.
And I say, this year, let’s do it boldly. Let’s do it loudly. Let’s do it proudly! Let’s be known all over Cheshire as those slightly kooky and unorthodox people on the Green who welcome absolutely everyone and who always choose life, in all its messy and magnificent diversity.
Let’s choose life!
RSS Feed