A mentor of mine in ministry, once told me that ministry is about the activation of souls. Ministry is about helping folks come to alive, in the deepest and truest sense, as our deepest and truest selves, as fellow beloved creations of the Living God. I’ll remind us that we’re all capable of doing ministry in one form or another, as well as needing to receive ministry, according to our gifts and needs. In the United Church of Christ we say that everyone dedicated to the Way of Jesus is a minister.

“The glory of God is a human being fully alive”, in the words of the 2nd Century Christian leader Irenaeus.

You may have heard me pull out that quote before – it bears repeating. “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.” It bears repeating because it helps us make a fresh and honest assessment of how fully alive we may be living, to the glory of our Holy Creator, or not. It also bears repeating because sometimes religion is deployed to stifle aliveness rather than helping to set folks free to be who God has created us to be.

The great Howard Thurman said, “Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

How much are we helping each other to be fully alive, souls activated, as the beloved and broken and beautiful humans that we are, wonderfully and awesomely made? This is one purpose of a church community.

It’s important to also ask: What are the impediments to that aliveness, that soul activation – for ourselves, for others?

The Gospel of John tells that Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. But I have come so they may have life and have life abundantly” (John 10:10).

What are the forces in our world, in our society, and in ourselves that steal and destroy life and life abundant? We must ask this question, for the sake of the love for each other and for this world, to which our faith compels us.

Then we must ask, what helps free us and free others from these forces, what helps us to liberate and activate souls for their true and good purpose? The answer to that will lead us to the living God, the ways that God is at work in our lives and times. This is what Jesus showed God to be, in relation with humanity, the Giver of life and life abundant, the Liberator that frees us from the mean and petty concerns that too often constrict souls. Jesus talks about dying so that we may be reborn: this is not about dying to the small self so that God may do something bigger through us, this is about letting go and letting God transform us into souls more fully alive.

This work is the work of love, helping each other to let God activate our souls, supporting each other to become more fully alive, striving for a society and a world that supports souls in coming alive, whoever we are and wherever we are on life’s journey, in whatever situation or stage of life we may find ourselves.

I’ve been reflecting lately on the idea that one of the rights with which our Creator has endowed humanity is the right to the pursuit of happiness. What a life-giving insight that is.

Also, what a challenge, to try to live and to organize society in ways that honor and support everyone’s right to the opportunity for a full and fulfilling and happy life.

Happiness here, I should note, does not mean merely fleeting pleasure, or always getting what you want, but means something deeper, a sense of fulfillment and well-being in life.

History and present reality show just how rare and inconsistent it is for people to live together in ways that really honor everyone’s right to pursue fulfilling lives. It isn’t happening so well when people are forced into desperation; it isn’t happening so well when people are fearing for their lives or livelihoods; it isn’t happening so well when people must hide or hide who they truly are; and on and on.

This is not to say that people can’t live fulfilling lives through hardship. People certainly do, thank God, and faith is often a key part of that. But desperation and oppression make it much harder, especially when it’s avoidably inflicted by choice or neglect. It is a worthy and urgent challenge for us humans to try to organize our ways of life to honor everyone’s right to pursue happiness. 

Honoring everyone’s God-given right to the pursuit of happiness I see as deeply resonant with the Gospel and its call on our lives.

Jesus came so that we all may have “life and life abundant,” so we are to serve Christ in others by caring about the least and the last and the lost, by caring for all the ways that folks are cast off and cast down and trampled underfoot, by bringing dignity and honor and humanity to all – for everyone deserves a fair chance at happiness – by helping to reduce the avoidable desperation and suffering … As well as by celebrating together and living with joy and generosity and beauty and love. Pursuing happiness – in the deepest and most fulfilling sense – protecting the rights of all people to pursue happiness, this dovetails with the love ethic of the Gospel.

Social scientists have researched what factors contribute to folks’ sense of happiness and well-being, or lack thereof, and why there are some big differences between societies and nations when it comes to people’s reported happiness and sense of fulfillment in life.

It’s fascinating to me how the factors this research identifies map onto some of what our Biblical testimonies say about how God has been calling humanity to be. Now, there’s a lot to parse out and argue here, about how various people define happiness, for example, and the understanding people of faith have that the truest fulfilment comes from a transcendent divine source. But the key factors for happiness identified by the World Happiness Report are things we should take very seriously:

  • Social support: knowing that you can rely on other people and a community
  • Generosity: being surrounded by people who share their time and resources
  • Freedom: being able safely to make your own life choices, as long as those choices don’t impinge on the rights of others. Having less violence and fear of violence helps this, as well as the rights for folks to be who they are and to be treated equally.
  • Abundance: having sufficient means to live without desperate want. (This doesn’t mean being rich, it means folks having enough to not have to be stressed all the time about immediate needs)
  • Access to health care: having support in being able to live healthy and long lives.
  • Absence of corruption: having trust in public institutions, businesses, and organizations.

You can see why our country, despite being the wealthiest, is among the happiest (but also why we’re not close to being the unhappiest).

You can also see what we strive to do here at church and how we believe God is calling us to be really matters.

These are trying times in our society, with a lot of isolation and fear and desperation, corruption, mistrust, division, violence, and on and on. Yet that’s not the whole picture. The antidote is always at hand, thank God. And God is calling us, as God has always called on the folks through history who would faithfully listen, to be part of the antidote to what is robbing folks of life and fullness of life. We are called to continue to care for the activation of souls, to care for the wellbeing of souls and bodies and hearts and minds and communities, to help each other to come alive to life abundant, through times of ease and times of trouble. We are called to warmly and openly and humbly share and enjoy and welcome others into that abundant life that is everyone’s right as fellow children of the Living God.

Thanks be to God.

Delivered Sunday, June 28, 2026, by Rev. Nathaniel Mahlberg, at the United Church of Christ at Valley Forge.