Jeremiah 33: 14-16 & Luke 21: 25-36
Roger Lynn
November 29, 2015
1st Sunday in Advent
(click here for the audio for this sermon)
Wars and rumors of wars. Climate change and environmental disasters of every sort. Paris bombings and school shootings. Disease and accidents. “In the bleak mid-winter...” is how the ancient carol puts it. We live in frightening times and the forces of fear often seem to hold sway. It’s no wonder that some people hear the apocalyptic words of Luke’s Gospel and believe they are about these times in which we live. “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.” (Luke 21:25) Which, of course, they are, but, interestingly enough, not at all in the way many people think.
In the midst of the chaos in which we live, we long for a better tomorrow. “The days are surely coming...” is how Jeremiah puts it. (Jeremiah 33:14) We want to be able to believe that the darkness will not have the final word. And so it is that apocalyptic language such as that which appears in our reading from Luke’s Gospel has often been a source of comfort for people. It is easy to turn the words into a secret code that somehow reveals a timetable for when God will finally act to put things right in the world.
1 Corinthians 12: 4-12
Roger Lynn
November 22, 2015
Stewardship Commitment Sunday
(click here for the audio for this sermon)
The card table is set up in the middle of the room. The box is opened and the pieces are spread out, with some time spent making sure they all get turned over so the face is up. And then, slowly, the picture begins to take shape as piece after piece is put in place. A jigsaw puzzle can occupy a whole family for hours at a time. I’ve heard rumors that it is possible for a puzzle to be assembled by an individual, but I can’t quite imagine why you would want to. It seems so much more fun and more interesting as a group experience. Each person brings to the task their own perspective and their own gifts. Some have a knack for spotting just the right shape. Others are great at finding the perfect color match. I’ve searched in vain for a particular piece, only to have someone else reach across the table and pull it out of the pile that was sitting in front of me the whole time. Through the combined efforts of everyone involved, something beautiful emerges from what started out as nothing more than a box of funny shaped pieces of cardboard.
There is something of that same experience involved in being the Church. We are a community of faith. “Wherever two or three are gathered together...” is the way the Bible puts it. A central, essential quality of being Church is that it takes all of us working together to sustain the important work we are called to. Oh sure, it is possible for each of us, on our own, to do important work. But it really does require the combined efforts of all of us to be Church. This year’s stewardship theme is “Putting the Pieces Together.” It is a reminder that we are in this together. We each bring to the experience the uniqueness of who we are. We each contribute what we can. Sometimes that takes the form of money. Sometimes we give of our time. Sometimes it’s something else. Always it occurs within the larger context of God’s abundance.
Luke 15: 1-3 & 11-31
Roger Lynn
November 15, 2015
Stewardship Emphasis
(click here for the audio for this sermon)
The Parable of the Prodigal is such a wonderful story. It has everything – drama, suspense, tragedy, comedy, conflict, passion, dysfunctional family dynamics, sibling rivalry, exotic locations, you name it. It’s no wonder that it is one of the all-time favorites among Jesus’ parables. And believe it or not, it is also a stewardship story. Or at least it provides the foundation upon which to build a theology of stewardship.
The first order of business when it comes to stewardship is perspective. Before we can even begin talking about giving, or the responsible use of resources, or any of the other big picture themes connected with stewardship, it is absolutely essential that we come to terms with who we are, where we fit in the grand scheme of things, and what we have to offer. Without this sense of perspective regarding the pieces of the puzzle, we have no frame of reference from which to even consider what it might look like when we start putting the pieces together.
Psalm 8
Roger Lynn
November 8, 2015
(click here for the audio for this sermon)
When we open ourselves to God’s Spirit and allow it to flow freely in us and through us, remarkable things can happen. What we discover is the reality that the healing power of God’s Love knows no limits. We begin to see the world in a whole new way, and we start to find our place in the world.
The writer of Psalm 8 must have had an experience like this. You can almost imagine him out in a field somewhere, laying on his back at night, staring up into the vast display of stars above him. He gets in touch with just how overwhelming it all is. And he almost heads down the path that leads to a sense of being lost and worthless. “God is so big, and I am so small. I guess I just don’t matter.” or “I’m only one person in a great big universe. Nothing I do really matters anyway. What’s the point?” It’s easy to wander down such paths and get lost in the swamp of hopeless meaninglessness. But that is not our only option. The psalmist, for example, found a different way to go. He traveled through the sense of being overwhelmed and came out on the other side, where he got in touch with the ways in which he was powerfully connected with everything, including God. He recognized that the sense of being small is only an illusion of perspective. When we think we’re separate and not connected, then of course we will feel small and powerless and lost. But when we begin to get in touch with the reality that we are a connected and vital part of all that is, then we find ourselves on the path towards living into our truly amazing potential – a potential which springs directly from an awareness that we have been made in the very image of God. We bear the imprint of the Sacred in the very core of our being.
Isaiah 25: 6-9 & Revelation 21: 1-6a
Roger Lynn
November 1, 2015
(click here for the audio for this sermon)
Toss a pebble into the center of a pond and the ripples from that single stone will spread to fill the whole surface. So it is with our understanding of life. It usually starts out narrowly focused – it’s all about me! Slowly our awareness and appreciation expands to include those closest to us, those we care about the most. If we live long enough, and pay attention, and are fortunate enough to have people in our life who encourage us to lift our eyes and open our hearts, the ripples of awareness spread to include our neighbors, our community, and eventually even the whole world.
Most of the time we need help seeing this reality. Most of the time we need help even believing it is there. There are so many distraction which lay claim to our attention and seem to tell us that it just isn’t true. Someone we love dies, and we feel the pain of separation. It is difficult to see beyond the haze of our grief. The world is torn apart by violence, and we feel the despair of fear. It is difficult to lift our eyes to see beyond the cloud of our anxiety. We lose our job, or our marriage, or our health, and we feel the weight of insecurity. It is difficult to focus much beyond the immediacy of the moment.
