All Saints: Remembering Our Connections

Luke 6: 20-31

Roger Lynn

October 30, 2016
(click here for the audio for this sermon)

We are connected to God and to each other. It is who we are. It is how we are created. It is at the very heart of what it means to be human. When we remember this most basic of truths we tend to experience the fullness of life – abundance, community, support, hope. When we forget this most basic of truths we tend to experience the darker side of life – isolation, fear, frustration, despair. In Luke’s Gospel Jesus speaks of “blessings” and “woes” – the consequences of how we choose to orient our living. Our blessedness is not determined by the outward circumstances of life, but rather by an awareness of our connection with God and with each other. Whatever comes our way, we can face it when we remember that we do not have to pretend to be brave and strong and self-reliant. We do not have to draw exclusively on our own resources. We are most fully and truly blessed when we catch a glimpse of the bigger picture of which we are a part – when we are open to the amazing fullness of who we are. And the flip-side of the blessings also flows from our choice of life orientation. When we lose sight of our connection and fall into the trap of thinking we are self-sufficient, we effectively cut ourselves off from all the benefits of being connected to God and each other. The blessings are still there, but we can’t see them or access them. It’s as if we are standing in a field filled with sunlight, and we choose to close our eyes and stumble around in the dark. If we believe that meaning and purpose and comfort and strength for our living extend no further than our own skin, then woe unto us – we are in for hard times indeed.

More God – Less Fear

Psalm 23 & Acts 2: 42-47

Roger Lynn

October 23, 2016

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

Seeking a life filled with Sacred Presence! I believe that in one way or another, whether we recognize it or not, by whatever name or description we choose to use, we are all searching for such a life. When we are in touch with the reality of Sacred Presence in our world and in our lives there is a sense of wholeness, because we are living in the fullness of what is most real. When we are not in touch with this reality there is a sense of longing, or emptiness, because our present awareness is out of sync with the deeper, fuller, richer truth which resonates with the core of who we are. And so we come to church – we pray – we read spiritual reflections – we meditate – we engage in a variety of spiritual practices – we go on sacred pilgrimages. Or we don’t. And I am convinced that the shape of our experience in this life reflects the path we choose. Please do not hear me saying that bad things will happen if you don’t pray, or that life will be nothing but sweetness and light if you go to church. I’m not talking about what happens to us in this life. I’m talking about how we experience what happens to us, and what we do with that experience.

Living With Integrity: Connecting Faith & Action

Matthew 23: 1-12

Roger Lynn

October 16, 2016

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

Jesus had had enough. He just couldn’t take any more. He had watched while the religious leaders in positions of power and authority presented the appearance of faithfulness without having that faithfulness reflected in the actual living of their lives. They were abusing their power and others were suffering as a result. So Jesus takes the courageous step of speaking the truth to power and warns people not to follow the path of their example. In so doing he joins his voice with the prophets of old, who had spoken similar words under similar circumstances several hundred years before. And all these hundreds and thousands of years later, such words still resonate with us because we still see this reality going on around us (and, if we are honest with ourselves, even within us). There is so much disconnection in our world and in our lives, where the values we hold dear are simply not being translated into action. 

What I find attractive about these words from Jesus is not primarily the ‘someone getting what they deserve’ factor (although there is a certain satisfying thrill which I’m not altogether proud of). What I really find hopeful, and where I want to focus my attention, is the awareness which motivates and drives Jesus and all the prophets who came before him. Behind his words is the understanding that the world doesn’t have to be this way, that it is possible to live with integrity, that faith and action can be connected, and that life actually works better when we live in this reality. If the only thing we find in the words of Jesus is someone yelling at the ‘bad’ people, then we probably need to move on, because there isn’t really much enduring value in that. And, in fact, if that’s all there was to it, he likely would not have bothered in the first place. He was seeking fundamental change for the way things are, and was not prone to giving his energy to lost causes. His words have had staying power precisely because another way is possible. Life can be different.

Connections: Remembering Who We Are

Genesis 2: 18-25

Roger Lynn

October 9, 2016

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

In many and various ways we are frequently told that we are separate and alone. And, in fact, we should want to be that way. We should strive for it. Our culture has sayings like “lift yourself up by your bootstraps” and “self-sufficient.” We talk about being independent as if it is a virtue. Many consider “looking out for number one” to be a good thing. Advertisers encourage us to tell our family and friends to get their own box of crackers, because this one belongs to me. Even Mary Tyler Moore, in the opening song from her old self-titled TV show, is told with great hope and promise that she is going to make it on her own. With all of these messages swirling around us, usually just below the surface of our awareness, it is easy to begin believing them. We start living as if “separate and alone” really does define who we are. We begin to do whatever it takes to protect ourselves. We build walls, both literal and metaphoric, and we refuse to let anyone get anywhere close to who we really are, including, most of the time, even ourselves. 

But it doesn’t have to be that way. In other times and other places there have been people of heart and wisdom who have envisioned a very different reality for what it means to be human. One such understanding is found in the second chapter of the book of Genesis. A part of the second creation story in Genesis, it has received less attention than the “In the beginning...” story of chapter one. But it is filled with wonderful images of connection and wholeness. 

Living Tradition – Living Faith

2 Timothy 1: 5-7 & 1 Corinthians 11: 23-25

Roger Lynn

October 2, 2016

World Communion Sunday

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Some use grape juice and some use wine. Some use unleavened bread and some use whatever kind of bread they can find. Some do it everyday and some do it once a year. Some understand it to be so holy that only certain special people can do it and some understand it to be so holy that anyone can do it. It happens in beautiful cathedrals and it happens in run-down shacks. It happens in the peace and quiet of monasteries and it happens in the chaos of a battle zone. Sometimes the table is made of hand-carved wood and sometimes the table is made of marble. Sometimes the table is the hood of a farm truck and sometimes the table is a picnic blanket under a tree. The words are in Latin and the words are in English. The words are in French and the words are in Russian. The words are in Swahili and the words are in American Sign Language. Those who come are lifelong Christians and those who come are uncertain what they believe. Those who come are young and those who come are old. Those who come are gay and those who come are straight. Those who come are female and those who come are male and those who come are transgendered. Sometimes it is shared with thousands and sometimes it is shared with two. Sometimes it is shared with intimate friends and sometimes it is shared with strangers. And in the midst of all this wide variety, God continues to meet us and greet us and welcome us at the table.