It Happened at Camp

It Happened at Camp

1 Corinthians 12: 4-13

Roger Lynn

July 31, 2016

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

I spent this past week at church camp with thirty two 7th, 8th, and 9th grade youth, fifteen adult volunteers, and the ongoing presence of God’s Spirit. It’s been ten years since I’ve been at church camp, and twenty years since I’ve been with this particular age group. Because I was gone all week, this morning’s worship service had to be planned in advance, including the title of the sermon. A week and a half ago I stepped out on faith and committed myself to the title “It Happened at Camp.” At that point I had no idea what I would say. I couldn’t know, because it hadn’t happened yet. But based on past experience I was trusting that something would happen worth preaching about. And, of course, it did. 

The last time I was on staff for a camp with this age group it was not a pleasant experience. In fact, I swore I would never do it again. And for twenty years that remained true. So when I was asked to serve as chaplain for the 7th, 8th, and 9th grade camp this year I said yes with more than a little trepidation. But I’m happy to report that this past week was totally worth the risk. It was a remarkable experience at so many levels. In fact, it ranks as one of the best camp experiences I have ever had.

A Treasure of Immeasurable Worth

Matthew 13: 31-33 & 44-46

Roger Lynn

July 17, 2016

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

In Matthew’s Gospel, many of Jesus’ parables focus on “the kingdom of heaven.” It is a metaphorical way of talking about the reality to which Jesus is pointing us – the reality which stands in contrast with the ways in which we often live our lives – the reality of God’s active and ongoing presence in our lives and in our world. Jesus begins his public ministry by declaring that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. God is right here, right now, in the very midst of us. All we have to do is notice. Jesus then spends the rest of his ministry helping people notice — offering illustrations which assist us in understanding what it means, and encouraging us to step into that reality and begin living as if it were true (because it is).

One of the common threads which runs through Jesus’ parables is the understanding that God’s presence seldom looks like what we expect it to look like. How often do we find ourselves, at least privately in our own minds, thinking, “If I were in charge of the world, I would do things very differently.” And so it is that we get the pair of very short parables which make up part of our reading from Matthew’s Gospel for today. God’s presence in the world is like a mustard seed or a bit of yeast. He could just as easily have said it is like the wind. It might as well be nothing for all that we are able to see it and recognize it. God’s presence is not something to which we can simply point and say, “Here it is! I found it!” Indeed, it is not really a “thing” at all, but the reality which is intimately and wholly interconnected with everything that is. We recognize God’s presence not by seeing it but rather by experiencing the effect it has in us and in the world around us — the mustard seed grows into a tree, the yeast leavens the bread, the wind moves the clouds across the sky. Our lives and our world are shaped by the presence of God. The reality we think we know and understand grows and changes as we become ever more aware of God’s presence.

Expecting The Unexpected

Isaiah 65: 17-25 & Luke 21: 5-19

Roger Lynn

July 10, 2016

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

Where in the world is God? Where do we even begin to look? The world can be a frightening and confusing place, and sometimes we just want some assurances that God has not abandoned us. We come to church. We pray. We try to live our lives faithfully. But there are times when it is hard to keep from despairing. So much of what we see going on around us is in turmoil and it only seems to be getting worse. Where in the world is God?

The prophet Isaiah offers an answer when he writes to people who are newly returned from a time of exile, but not yet restored to the life they expected and desired. He speaks of God’s promise to bring all of creation into balance and harmony. It is a marvelous piece of poetry, filled with hopeful images of life as we all want it to be — peace and prosperity and equality for everyone. When the days are dark and threatening it can be comforting to read such words and dream of a time when God will bring such a reality into existence. The only problem, of course, is that most of the time we don’t really see much evidence that it is going to happen any time soon. If God is present and working in the midst of us even now, then why is life like this? When, O God, will it begin to be different? 

Freedom From Independence

Zechariah 9: 9-12 & Matthew 11: 28-30

Roger Lynn

July 3, 2016

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

For 240 years now, we Americans have been celebrating Independence Day. Being fiercely independent has become a defining American virtue. Unfortunately, I fear we have wandered way too far down that path. We lift ourselves by our own bootstraps. We don’t need any help from anyone. We protect our own against all our enemies (defined as anyone not just like us). We don’t want to be beholding to anyone. We have become so focused on our independence that all too often we forget about our interdependence. Our vision is so turned inward that we lose sight of the reality which is all around us.