Sermon: Pledge

Many thanks to all the students who helped lead Morning Worship for Campus Celebration Sunday! Your leadership was really wonderful, and the congregation appreciated you sharing your gifts!



Ruth 1:1-18, Mark 3:31-34

They had nothing. They had no one. Or so they thought.

The book of Ruth begins as a complete tragedy. And in one sense, that’s obvious to us. We just heard from the opening of the book this morning, and we learn from the outset that Naomi and Ruth are experiencing tremendous losses. Naomi has lost her husband and her two sons. And Ruth has lost her husband, one of those sons. Naomi and Ruth have lost all the men in their family. It’s easy for us to see how tragic and sweeping that kind of loss would be.

But in another sense, it’s hard for us to wrap our minds around the depth of the fallout that these tragedies will create. In their ancient context, women are entirely socially and financially dependent upon the men of their families. It’s hard for us to imagine what life will be like for them as widows, as functional orphans – especially when they’re widows who are daring to leave their common surroundings. They’re leaving Moab for Judah, making a journey back to the homeland Naomi left more than ten years ago, traveling to a place that Ruth has never seen.

And on top of this, Ruth is a foreigner. And not just any foreigner. Ruth is a Moabite.

Listen to these words: "No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted to the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants shall be admitted to the assembly of the LORD, because they did not meet you with food or water on your journey out of Egypt. . . You shall never promote their welfare or their prosperity as long as you shall live." That's from Deuteronomy. That’s one of the many negative statements about Moab, an ancient enemy of Israel. Clearly, these women are in a desperate situation.

They have nothing. They have no one. Or so they thought.


Because even in the midst of sweeping tragedy, something remarkable happens at the end of our text. Ruth – the one who has the most to lose – gives the most, and she does it by pledging herself. Naomi has had it. She sees no hope at all. Understandably, everything is colored through her losses. Everything seems bleak and tragic. So while they travel on the road, Naomi tells both of her daughters-in-law to go back home – to depart from her, to find different paths for themselves. “Go back, my dear daughters, why would you come with me? I have nothing to offer you.” And yet in response to that statement, Ruth is bold to herself. Orpah leaves Naomi, but Ruth pledges herself in love: “Where you go, I will go. And where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die. There I will be buried. So help me God! Not even death will come between us!”

They had no real resources.
They had no real community.
But - thanks be to God - they had one another.

And sometimes, that’s enough. Sometimes, that’s the beginning point from which love and grace-filled opportunities become possible. Ruth pledges herself to be with and for Naomi – to accompany her on a journey – not only on a journey to Judah, but on a journey through life itself – even if that journey involves sweeping tragedies. Sometimes, that pledge is enough. Sometimes, that pledge is a love and grace-filled beginning point. That’s certainly the case in the story of Naomi and Ruth.

Ruth’s pledge is the beginning point of a theme that runs all the way through the Book. People continue to pledge themselves. People continue to go way beyond what is expected of them. Once the women arrive in Judah, Ruth begins to glean in the fields of a man named Boaz – to gather stalks of barley that are dropped in the hot sun while men work the long hours of the harvest. Boaz gifts Ruth with an abundance of barley that goes beyond a stalk here and a stalk there. He’s heard about her commitment – her astounding pledge – to accompany Naomi, and he continues to support them both by sending Ruth home with more than enough food. And that’s when Naomi and Ruth take some serious initiative. Through a series of customs that sounds ancient and foreign to our ears, Naomi sends Ruth to propose marriage to Boaz. Now that’s a radical thing for an ancient widow to do! – especially this widow, a foreigner from a despised land.

The theme continues. Boaz pledges himself to Ruth in marriage. And Boaz and Ruth give birth to a son, a son named Obed – Obed, the one who will become the grandfather of King David.

This foreign widow, Ruth, was included as an active participant the history of the Kingdom of Israel. This foreign widow, Ruth, gave hope to her mother-in-law when everything seemed hopeless. This foreign widow, Ruth, teaches us that a life-giving pledge of ourselves can turn scarcity into abundance and tragedy into redemptive moments of grace.


Incredible, isn’t it? And yet, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised. When we come here on Sunday morning, don’t we profess something similar about God? Don’t we claim that there is a loving God who pledges to be God to us – to accompany us in our very lives? We may come into this sanctuary with all sorts of thoughts, emotions, and distractions. We feel joy. We feel sorrow. We feel convicted. We have questions. We give thanks. We writhe with grief. We feel excited. We feel bored. We’re focused. We’re thinking about the sandwich we’ll eat later. We bring all of these things and more into a sanctuary on a normal Sunday morning. But the message is the same, and it has a claim on us wherever we are today. In love, God has pledged to be God to us. God has pledged to be God to us in all those places where we are. And to use good, Reformed, Presbyterian language, we can say, God has elected us. And that’s good news.

Election. It’s a theological word. But it’s not just a heady concept. It’s a reality that sweeps up our lives in an incredible way. When we say that God elects us, we are saying that God looks at each one of us and pledges love. God pledges to accompany every one of us. And here’s the amazing thing: There’s nothing we can do to undo that love. We can’t nullify it. We can’t make it untrue. God’s love is a pledge given freely for us –a chosen pledge. You and are created to live in that love. And there’s nothing we can do to make God love us more; we can’t earn it. And there’s nothing we can do to make God love us less; we can’t undo it. That is the incredible claim of the Christian faith. And here’s amazing news: We can know that love and receive it: And we can live it and pledge ourselves to others, mirroring God’s election of us.

Here’s an interesting question: What happens when we take our theological ideas about God – the ways we understand our vertical relationship – and just turn them sideways? What happens when our theology exists on a horizontal plane too? In our humanity, our love is often flawed, but the amazing news is that we can pledge ourselves to one another. In effect, you could say that we “elect” one another. What an incredible gift!

I'll tell you a story. Once I was on staff for College Connection, a conference at Mo Ranch, and I overheard an interesting conversation. Two students were asking another staff member about what it means to be Presbyterian. They asked all sorts of questions. Eventually, one of them asked, "So. . . what's predestination?"


I have to admit that I laughed out loud. "How's he gonna answer that one?" I thought.


Predestination has been a part of the Reformed faith tradition, and at times, it's been interpreted to say this: "God has chosen some for salvation and others for damnation. There's nothing anyone can do about it. It's all God's choice. Case closed. End of story. That's the way it is."



But this person decided to answer the question in a way I've never forgotten. He said, "Predestination means that God has pledged to be God toward us. And we are the people we are in light of that pledge." To bring his point home, he mentioned his daughter. "You know, there may be a day when she decides to not act like my daughter. She may never talk to me or care if I exist. But I've made a pledge to her, and here's what I say to that: 'I'm not gonna let you not be my daughter!


I think that's beautiful. "I'm not gonna let you not be my daughter." That's what God does to us. God has elected and pledged to be God toward us. We can act like that's not true, but in a myriad of ways, God is always saying, "I'm not gonna let you not be my son! I'm not gonna let you not be my daughter! You can’t nullify my love. Where you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. You will be my people, and I will be your God. Where you die, I will suffer alongside you. And I will raise you up. Not even death can come between us!"


Well, here's an idea. If God lives this way toward us, could it be that we are called to live in such a way toward others?

"I'm not gonna let you not be my sister!"
"I'm not gonna let you not be my brother!"
"I'm not gonna let you be an outcast, because I'm gonna include you!"
"I'm not gonna let you believe lies about yourself, because I know who you are: A Child of God. And I'm gonna tell you and live toward you like that's true!"

Isn’t that an amazing message? Isn’t that an amazing way to live?

We’re gathered here this morning on Campus Celebration Sunday. Did you know that this church made a pledge in 1898? This church was founded in that year or the purpose of caring for students and young people – for the purpose of believing in them, for the purpose of knowing them and nurturing them to be the ministers they are. Sitting among us today, are college students, graduate students, and young adults who belong to God. In love, God has pledged to be God to them. They will testify that to you. And you have the opportunity to pledge yourselves to them. You are surrogate Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, and Brothers. You have the opportunity to say this to them: You are God’s beloved child. And in light of that, I will treat you as my own beloved child. I’m not gonna let you not be my daughter! I’m not going to let you not be my son! So help me God! I will be who I am with and for you. We have that opportunity today. We have that opportunity every day.

What an amazing privilege it is to live as the pledged people of God! God help us to be who we are called to be. Amen.

-Renee Roederer, Campus Minister

Wednesday at Wendy's!

Every Wednesday during the school year, Austin Agape gets together for lunch at the UT Union! We meet from 11-1, usually on the patio outside for food and lots of laugher! Some of our silliest conversations seem to happen on Wednesdays.



And who knows what will happen when you arrive? Yesterday, Kathleen and Lindsay had a race to see who could figure out how many holes were on the table. Can you believe that there are 3,456? An large number with consecutive digits! See, you never know what will take place on Wednesday!

Feel free to drop in any time from 11-1!

Picnic Fun!

After Morning Worship on Sunday, our congregation gathered for a picnic! To beat the heat, we had it right inside Fellowship Hall. People brought sack lunches, enjoyed fellowship, and sang together. The Summer Singers led the congregation through many beautiful songs and hymns.






Smiles were contagious!











Everyone enjoyed being together!






And what a generous church! We raised $1600 for the Bill Murray Friendship Fund! This fund is an endowment that helps people in our area with rent and utilities assistance. Thanks, UPC!

The University Interfaith Council

The University Interfaith Council is an important organization of religious groups near the University of Texas. Leaders from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim student groups gather monthly to build community, learn from one another, and plan events for fellowship and interfaith dialogue in Austin.


As you can see here, UIC Campus Ministers do get excited about the University of Texas! Here are Father Ed Novak and Deacon John De La Garza from the University Catholic Center, donning the appropriate burnt orange!


This year, we hope to gather an active student group for the University Interfaith Council. Students will get together once a month to learn about various faith traditions and plan events for the campus community. Might that involve you? Speak to Renee if you're interested!

Sermon: The One who begins. . .

Philippians 4:4-9

Here’s an interesting Austin Agape tidbit, if you will. I’m not entirely sure this is true, but I think it is; I think that the text we just heard has been our scripture text for the opening Evening Worship of the year, four years in a row! Well, I see a trend here. And so I chose this text intentionally this year. And. . . I guess I did last year too come to think of it. . . But why not continue a good tradition? Why not continue to make this text an important one for us? It’s a beautiful description of Christian living - of community living - and I think it’s an expression of who we are and who we’re always invited to become.

Our text starts out this way: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” Rejoice. That word just kind of permeates this letter to the Philippians. It sums up the character of the letter, but also, the literal word - Rejoice - is used over and over again. All the way through the letter, Paul, the author, gives thanks for the people he’s writing to. In the beginning of the letter he says this: “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you,” and he adds this too, “I am confident of this, that the One who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” Clearly, something incredible is happening in this community. There’s much to rejoice about. Paul loves these people. And Paul loves what God is doing in and through them. He sees it and rejoices in it! Paul believes that “the One” who began a good work in them will bring it to completion. The One who initiated who they are will bring who they are tino a fullness deeper and richer than they can comprehend. That’s a process worth rejoicing about!

And that’s what’s happening here too. Something is happening right here in this community. There’s much to rejoice about. God is doing incredible work in and through us - as individuals - as a community - and this year, we have an opportunity to witness it growing deeper and fuller and richer. Perhaps Paul would tell us to, “Rejoice!” The One who began a good work in us is continuing that very work.

Campus Ministry at University Presbyterian Church actually began before any of us were born. It began before any member of this church was born. It began more than a century ago - before cars, and planes, and computers, and definitely before your ipods or iphones. In 1898, this church was founded to care for students. It was founded to provide them a home away from home. It was founded to tell the city of Austin that students can do incredible things - use their gifts to benefit others and live as incredible ministers to one another and to their larger community. The church believed this was possible and took an exciting risk. But they didn’t just do it on a whim or fling of imagination. They did it because they truly felt called by God. They felt nudged; they felt energized to step into this ministry of building a church because they believed it met a need here in Austin.

Did they have us in mind? Maybe. . . to a degree. They wouldn’t have been able to wrap their minds around ipods and iphones. That’s for sure! And I feel pretty confident that they wouldn’t have imagined a woman giving a sermon about them. But perhaps they knew that something bigger than themselves was beginning. The One who was beginning a good work in them would bring it to completion - perhaps in ways they couldn’t have imagined.

So did they have us in mind? Maybe. Did the One who began this work have us in mind? Did God have us in mind? I’d say yes. I’m not saying that God dragged us all here tonight like puppets or zombies or something beyond our will. But I am saying that God dreams for us - God dreams for this community with imagination and energy, and somehow - somehow! - we in our unique way help fulfill a very real part of that dream. Rejoice! Your gifts, your hearts, your brains, your passions, your imagination, your questions, your quirkiness, and unique histories have a place here. You and I are somehow a part of God’s dream, and God will use us to impact and form who will be here next. Who knows? Maybe even a century from now!

I’ll tell you something I love about campus ministry. It’s pretty much a new church development every year. There’s a character here - perhaps even a personality at Austin Agape - that somehow remains, but every year, new people with new faces with new talents with new questions come, and they add to that. They change us because we become in relationship with them. And that’s a wonderful thing. That’s something to rejoice in. We need those people.

Those of us who have been around Austin for a while know this, and if you’re new to Austin and UT, you’ll know it soon. In a few weeks - and honestly throughout the year - there will be a lot of high pressure religious groups on campus that will broadcast themselves as “the ones who have all the answers.” Some will stand on the West Mall holding big signs and yelling through megaphones as students walk back and forth to classes. I’m not saying that every group on the West Mall does this, but several do. Or maybe it’s just a few and they’re disproportionately loud. Well, they tend to give some form of this message: “We have all the answers. You need us. Come be a part of us and we’ll give you those answers.” I guess the answers, insights, and convictions should be celebrated when they come, but, maybe questions are just as important. Maybe even more important! The questions we ask inform how we want to live our lives. They inform what we seek to learn; they inform who we seek to care about.

This is a new church development every year. New people will come with new questions, and we’ll be richer because of it. Hopefully, this is our message. Instead of saying, “You need us! Come!” hopefully we can say, “We need you! Come!” Come be a part of what God is doing here in and through us. Bring your truest selves! Bring your gifts! Bring your very lives! Bring them to the One who began a good work here, the One who is bringing it to completion - perhaps a completion we can’t begin to imagine. We invite you to be a part of that completion alongside us. Who knows where it will go?

Who knows? This year, we can take those questions and make them into prayers together. We can live our questions. We can lift them to God. We can live the way Paul describes: “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” And somehow - again beyond our imagination - the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will come and dwell with us. It will be a part of our completion - our coming to fullness.

And what will we celebrate in the process? What might permeate our lives here - so much so that we pass it on to people who will be in these seats decades from now? This year, if you are a new undergraduate student, a returning student, a graduate student, a seminary student, a young adult, or an older adult who wants to partner with us, you are invited to bring your truest self here, and be part of God’s completion for our community. And together, we will witness and live a part of God’s dream - a part of God’s dream that celebrates whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, whatever is excellent and worthy of praise. May the One working for our completion bring us into these things together. Rejoice! Amen.

First Evening Worship of the Year!

That's right folks. Austin Agape begins its academic year with Campus Dinner (FREE!) at 6:00pm tonight and Evening Worship at 7:00pm. We invite anyone to come, and we look forward to meeting some new people! You are very welcome here. Hope to see you tonight!





University Presbyterian Church is at 2203 San Antonio Street, behind the University Co-op. In fact, it's right next to the gigantic Bevo statue in the Co-op parking lot. If you don't know what that is yet, trust me, you will! It's HUGE!

We hope you can be with us tonight to kick off the new year!

Hooray to the Summer Group! And Pizza!

We had a fantastic summer of fun and meaningful conversation at University Presbyterian Church! This summer we watched episodes of Joan of Arcadia, a fantastic series to spark discussion. And we read two books by C.S. Lewis, conversing about them at the Spiderhouse, a unique Austin venue that led to a lot of fun. Thank you, everyone for your involvement this summer - those who were present and those who followed along, even reading C.S. Lewis with us! Last night, we finished our time together with PIZZA and a Joan-a-thon. Lots of fun!

Here are some fun pictures to highlight our time together:

















What a summer!