Staying Connected to the Source

Jeremiah 17: 5-8 & Luke 6: 17-36

Roger Lynn

August 28, 2016

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

Driving through the arid landscape of the American west, it is usually easy to tell where the water is located. Just look for the trees. They thrive because they are tapped into the source of that life-sustaining liquid. Without it they simply would not survive.

And we are not so very different. We thrive when we remember to keep our spirits connected to the Sacred Source of life. We give it a variety of names – God, Spirit, the Holy. And by whatever names we use to describe this Sacred Presence, it nourishes and sustains our living. It is always present. It is always available. And yet, surprisingly, we frequently close ourselves off from this empowering reality. Sometimes we do so out of fear, when we get overwhelmed. More often, I suspect, we do so simply by forgetting to paying attention. We get distracted. We allow the inconsequential to overshadow that which has real substance. And the quality of our living suffers as a result. Our lives are less full and rich. Sometimes there is actual damage. When we humans beings get locked into a narrow perspective concerning what matters and a narrow perspective concerning where we draw our strength, we often find ourselves wandering through some unpleasant neighborhoods. 

Living in the Now of God’s Reign

1 Corinthians 12: 12-31a & Luke 4: 14-21

Roger Lynn

August 21, 2016

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

In Mark’s Gospel Jesus begins his public ministry by declaring that God’s reign is here, now, in the midst of us. He can make such a powerful proclamation with absolute confidence because he has the insight to recognize that this has always, and will always, be true. That, in summary form, is what Jesus’ ministry is all about – opening our eyes and our hearts and our lives to the ongoing reality of God’s active and loving presence in the midst of us.

Luke’s Gospel uses a different narrative to introduce Jesus’ public ministry, but it is, in essence, the same message. He stands up in the synagogue (the local gathering place for worship and prayer) and reads an amazing passage from the prophet Isaiah. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19) And as powerful and profound as those words are, Jesus follows them with an even more amazing proclamation. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21)

Watching for Wonder

Genesis 1: 1-2 & 31 – 2: 3

Roger Lynn

August 14, 2016

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

We spend a lot of time and energy trying to find God. And we spend even more time and energy trying to describe what we find. Biblical scholars devote their lives to dissecting the smallest of scriptural details. Theologians write countless elegantly composed books and articles on every imaginable subject. Church leaders fret over intricately worded doctrinal statements. Preachers (like me) spend untold hours preparing weekly sermons on a wide variety of topics. And such efforts certainly have their place. Part of what it means to be human is that we try to make sense of our experiences. We are “meaning-making” creatures.

But I also know that one of the most powerful ways in which I experience God’s presence in my life is by paying attention to what is going on around me all the time. Watching for wonder helps to keep me in touch with a profoundly intimate connection with the Sacred. I discover a sense of who I am and where I fit in the grand picture of God. Experiencing life through the lens of wonder provides some protection against the dangers of becoming overwhelmed by the painful realities which can seem so all-consuming. It offers us another way to approach our living – a path which is filled with meaning and purpose and joy. Jewish philosopher and mystic Abraham Joshua Heschel suffered a near fatal heart attack. As he reflected back over his life he became aware of deep gratitude. His response was a simple prayer. “I did not ask for success; I asked for wonder. And You gave it to me.” (from the Introduction to “I Asked for Wonder: A Spiritual Anthology” by Abraham Joshua Heschel” and edited by Samuel H. Dresner)

Connected to Creation

Psalm 104

Roger Lynn

August 7, 2016

Breakfast on the Pass

(there is no audio this week)

Well, here we are again. We shut down operations in town and moved worship to the great outdoors. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of hassle. We have to make sure the event gets heavily advertised, so that people don’t show up at church expecting to find us there. Some people just can’t make it out here, so they miss church today. Why, then, would we do this? Just because it’s fun is probably not a good enough reason.

One of the primary reasons why I think it is a good idea is to maintain and nourish our connection with creation. There is such a risk in the way most of us live our lives for losing touch with our connection with creation. We live in our climate controlled houses, from which we drive our climate controlled cars to shop in climate controlled stores. Even when we go outside to places like our local farmer’s markets and other urban activities they takes place on pavement in the middle of the city. Please don’t get me wrong. We live where we live and I’m not suggesting that we all need to move back to the farm. And I’m not at all trying to say that we are somehow anti-environment. We simply lose touch. And in a particular sort of way we often run the risk of losing touch with creation when it comes to our spiritual lives. Our formal worship experiences occur almost exclusively in buildings. And when we lose touch with the natural world around us we lose touch with a part of who we are. I spend a great deal of time preaching about the importance of our connection with each other. Community is an essential part of what it means to be human. And in the same way, our connection with all of creation is vital to living as fully and richly as we are meant to live. One of the central convictions of our faith tradition is that everything that is has come into being out the heart of the divine. It is not a matter of finding connection or creating connection. It is a matter of remembering the connection which already exists.