This I Believe. . .

Mark 1: 14-15 & John 20: 19-22
Roger Lynn
August 30, 2015
Candidate Sermon at Plymouth Congregational Church

In the interest of full disclosure I need to let you know that the words I share this morning as I seek to introduce myself to you are not my typical sermon. Usually I find one idea, or theme, or image, and then I explore it and find ways to breathe some life into it. But on this occasion I choose instead to spend some time pondering a variety of themes which weave together to form the core of what it is that I believe. I offer this to you for a variety of reasons. For one thing, it provides a pretty good overview of my theological / spiritual perspective on life – an opportunity for you to get to know me. It might also serve as an invitation for you to do a similar kind of summary reflection on your own beliefs and perspectives – a chance for you to get to know yourself just a little bit better. And finally, I hope there are some fresh insights which can enhance your journey of faith as you seek to grow in your connection with God and with each other.

So, I invite you to hear something of the radical good news of God’s presence in our lives and in our world. Sit back, relax, take a deep breath and open your heart as you come along with me on a journey through the land of faith.

I begin with a prayer, written by e.e.cummings, which has always struck a powerful chord in me, calling me back again and again to an awareness of the presence of the sacred which I believe to be at the heart of all that is.

i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth
day of life and love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

Jesus said much the same thing when he proclaimed, “The reign of God has come near!” This is how Mark introduces us to Jesus’ ministry. God is right here, right now, in the very midst of us. In the words of the song we sang earlier this morning, “Not in some heaven, light years away. Here in this place the new light is shining. Now is God present, and now is the day!” (from “Gather Us In” by Marty Haugen copyright 1982) Singer/songwriter Peter Mayer calls us to this awareness in his song “Everything is holy now.” Catherine of Siena says, “All the way to heaven is heaven.” However we might choose to describe it, I believe that God can be found and experienced in every moment, every place, every circumstance of our living. The only question is whether or not we will notice – whether we will pay attention. At the end of Jesus’ ministry, when he is trying to equip the disciples to go out into the world, he breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit!” Behind his words and actions is the Hebrew concept of God’s Ruach – God’s Spirit / Breath / Wind. I love this image because it powerfully conveys the understanding that God is everywhere, as close to us as our breathing. If we can open ourselves to this essential core of reality, then everything else will follow.

It is not enough, however, to simply notice God’s presence. It is also vitally important that we pay attention to the nature and character of the God we are experiencing. How we envision God matters – it shapes the ways in which we relate to God – it shapes the ways in which we relate to each other – it shapes the ways in which we live. The God I have come to see everywhere can be described (though not contained) by such words as love and grace and abundance. We live in a world of abundance. There really is enough, and more than enough, for everyone – more than enough food, more than enough resources, more than enough love. Any scarcity we might observe or experience is more a problem of distribution, and that is something we humans can do something about.

We live in a world that is fundamentally good. The writer of the first creation story in Genesis was on to something when God looks at everything and declares that it is “very good.” And in this wonderful, amazing, abundant world we are all connected – to God, to each other, to all that is. Everything is woven into the sacred fabric of God’s presence. There is no us and them – there is only us. There is only one reality – living fully in the presence of God. When we are in touch with this reality, then qualities of peace, joy, love, compassion, meaning, purpose all flow naturally. When we are not in touch with this reality, then our lives are based on unreality, and the untold suffering which results also flows naturally. We can live in fear and isolation, or we can live in trust and community – the choice is ours.  

Fear blocks faith. It blinds us to the truth of God’s presence, and locks us away in a prison of our own making. Trusting God, on the other hand, means stepping out beyond ourselves, beyond our fear, so that we can truly and fully experience the life-giving connection which we share with God, with each other, and with the world around us. It means taking risks. Truly faithful living will often be uncomfortable because it involves growing. Living on the edge can be an uncomfortable place to be. It is also when we are most fully alive. Faithful living is an adventure.

Along the way, as we live into this adventure, it is critical that we remember who we are – beloved of God and bearers of Light for the world. In the words of Paul, we are children of Light, so live like children of Light. Shine! We have been abundantly blessed, and are thus in a position to be a blessing in return. This miracle is accomplished when we are most fully ourselves. We are, each one of us, unique agents of God’s love, and the world is waiting for us to share our gifts. That is how God is made manifest in the world. That is how the world is healed.

This world in which we live is filled with wonders beyond imagining or description. And, at the same time, it is also filled with pain and suffering and brokenness beyond imagining or description. I don’t know why, but I know that it is my experience and the experience of everyone I know. What I do know is that even in the midst of the brokenness and pain and loss God is always present, offering compassion, strength and courage. Sometimes all I know for certain is the truth which William Sloane Coffin proclaimed – “God’s heart is the first of all our hearts to break.” I believe that Shalom – peace, wholeness – is possible. There is healing for our brokenness. And it begins right here, right now, in this sacred moment, as we open ourselves to the mysterious presence of the One who is in all and through all.  In opening ourselves to this presence we become co-creators with God in bringing new life and abundance and healing into the world.

God is Mystery – there is always more than we can know or even imagine. Neither our senses nor our intellect can tell us the whole truth. And yet we do have the capacity to perceive and experience the mystery – through prayer, through silence, through community, through creativity, through beauty, through nature. It has been my experience that the glory of God shines through, and when I notice I am filled to overflowing with joyful and grateful awe. In the words of the Irish poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil. . .” 

Five and a half years ago my life was radically and painfully turned upside down. On March 7, 2010, when my wife Veronica died after fifteen days in the hospital, everything changed. I am a different person from the pre-March 7th Roger. So much pain. So much grace. So much healing and transformation. And through it all the foundation has held. What I have come to know more profoundly than ever before is that everything I just shared with you in this sermon is true. God’s gift of Love ultimately triumphs. It is what matters. It is what gives life meaning and purpose and it never stops. I have even found new love in my life. In fact, she is here today. Susan is not a substitute or replacement for what was. She is a unique manifestation of love in her own right – an ongoing gift for which I am more grateful than I have words to express. The sense of God’s presence and grace and love which I have experienced through the steadfast care of my remarkable and supportive community of family and friends is beyond description. It continues to give me a reason to keep breathing. And all of it is a Mystery. I may not understand it, but I can most certainly experience it. What matters is that I continue to embrace the Mystery which embraces me.

And so it is that I can say to you with full honesty and integrity that the more we are in touch with the mysterious, sacred, wondrous, joyful presence of God, the more we become aware of reasons to celebrate. Not some simplistic, rose-colored glasses sort of celebration, but rather a complex, robust and full-bodied celebration which encompasses the whole spectrum of who we are and what we experience – all our joy and all our grief. Over and over again in the Gospels, Jesus describes the experience of coming fully into the presence of God in terms of a party. And not just any party, but THE party – the party to which we are all invited – the party to which we are all called to do the inviting. So let the singing and dancing and weeping and laughing and loving begin. Amen.