Reflections from the Stable

a Christmas Eve story

Roger Lynn

December 24, 2017

(click here for the audio for this story)

(click here for the video for the whole service - the story begins at about 37:15)

My name is Jacob. I am old now, but once upon a time when I was young my family lived in the village of Bethlehem. My father ran the local inn and I often helped out, especially when things got busy. One of my jobs was working in the stable out behind the barn. I swept out the stalls and made sure there was fresh hay in the manger. 

It was a long time ago, but there was one night that I will remember for the rest of my life. The inn was as busy as I had ever seen it. I was young and didn’t really understand why it was so busy, but I later learned that the Roman emperor had made a law which required everyone to return to their hometown for a census. It still seems like a crazy sort of law, but apparently when you are the emperor you get to do crazy things. Anyway, what it meant for Bethlehem was chaos. There were people everywhere. I guess it was fun in its own way – sort of like a giant family reunion. But Bethlehem is not a big place, and there wasn’t really enough room for everyone. My father’s inn was completely swamped. Every room was taken. People were sleeping on tables and in the courtyard. They were everywhere. I remember my father running around trying to keep everyone happy, which only seemed to work part of the time. And finally he just threw up his hands and said, “That’s it! We’re full! There is absolutely no way we can take any more guests!” 

God’s Surprise (Advent 4)

Micah 5: 2-5a & Luke 1: 39-55

Roger Lynn

December 24, 2017

4th Sunday in Advent

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

(click here for the video of the whole worship service - the sermon begins at 18:50)

How often do we miss it because we are looking in another direction? In this world of “might makes right” and “bigger is better” and “the one with the most toys wins” - how often do we fail to notice the presence of the God who shows up in backwater towns like Bethlehem and in the lives of marginalized people like teen-age unwed mothers and old women? Brian Andreas is an artist who does a series he calls Storypeople. In the one that showed up this morning in my Facebook feed he writes. “One time on Hollywood Boulevard I saw a young girl with a baby. It was a crisp winter morning & her hair shone dark purple in the sun. She was panhandling outside the Holiday Inn & the door clerk came out & told her to be on her way & I wondered if anyone would recognize the Christ child if they happened to meet. I remember thinking it’s not like there are any published pictures & purple seemed like a good color for a Madonna so I gave her a dollar just in case.” (click here to view this piece) Over and over in scripture we find this message – God will not be contained or constrained by our narrow vision of how the world works. God will continue to show up in surprising and unexpected places and circumstances.

And this is good news, indeed! Can you imagine what the world, and our lives, would be like if God were no more than what we usually expect? I want to have my horizons expanded. I want to be challenged to step beyond my comfort zone. I want to be surprised by God. Because only then am I most fully in touch with what is real and true and powerful – in me, in the world, in God.

Reflection from the Longest Night Service

a service for those experiencing grief and loss

Commentary on John 1:1-5 & 9

Roger Lynn

December 21, 2017

It is appropriate that this service is held on the longest night of the year. When you have experienced loss and find yourself in the midst of grief, it can feel as if the darkness will last forever, with no hope that the sun will ever again light your world. Journeying through that darkness can be a daunting and overwhelming challenge. We put one foot in front of the other, pulled along by some force which we cannot name and do not understand, because in that moment the darkness is our reality. But we are saved by the fact that there is more to life than simply our own personal perceived reality. The prologue to John’s Gospel (which we heard read just a few moments ago) describes this broader, deeper, fuller reality as “the Word” – the living incarnation of divine presence. And John says that this presence enlightens everyone. Everyone – whether you notice or not, whether you ask for it or not, whether you think you deserve it or not. God’s light shines in our lives, guiding us along through the darkness, even when we have no idea why we should keep going.

Choosing To Live Joyfully (Advent 3)

Philippians 4: 4-9

Roger Lynn

December 17, 2017

3rd Sunday in Advent

(there was technical difficulties with the audio for this sermon - hopefully we will get them resolved by next Sunday)
(click here for the video for the entire service - the sermon begins at 21:33) 

The theme for this third Sunday in the season of Advent is “Joy.” And it is worth noting that we sometimes get confused by the idea of joy. The words happy and joyful are often used almost interchangeably, and then we read something like Paul’s words to the Church at Philippi and it doesn’t make much sense to us. “Rejoice in the Lord always!” How in the world is that supposed to work? We think he is advocating some sort of Pollyanna-ish approach to life, complete with rose colored glasses and a painted on fake smile. We know what the world is like and there’s just no way we can close our eyes and pretend that everything is wonderful when it’s not.

But that is not what Paul is advocating. He understands very well indeed that life can be painful. This is, after all, the man who was shipwrecked on several occasions, thrown into prison more than once, run out of town under threat of death, along with various other hardships we can only begin to imagine. He is not saying, “Just put on a smile and hope it all turns out OK.” What he is offering is far more radical than that. He is urging us to choose joy. He is suggesting that when we choose to place our trust in God it actually changes how we experience life. The same stuff will very likely still happen to us. But how we respond to it will be radically different. 

Whose Peace Are We Seeking? (Advent 2)

Isaiah 11: 1-9  & Matthew 3: 1-12

Roger Lynn

December 10, 2017

2nd Sunday in Advent

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

(click here for the video for the entire worship service - the sermon stars at 21:21)

Every year the second Sunday in Advent is Peace Sunday. It is a time to pause and reflect on what it means to speak about God’s Shalom, and to envision what it would look like if we were to experience it in our lives and in our world. One Sunday a year is certainly not adequate for such a vitally important topic. But at least it is a start. 

We might begin with a reminder about the definition of Shalom. It is a Hebrew word which often gets translated as Peace. But perhaps a fuller, richer, more accurate translation would be Wholeness. When we seek to live our lives in harmony with God we begin to experience healing. The brokenness which contributes to so much pain and violence in our world begins to heal. Peace, real peace, emerges. It is peace which rises up out of an expansive re-orientation of all of life, rather than a peace which is imposed through conflict being repressed. It is not about negotiated settlements. It is about deep and genuine transformation. Such peace does not come simply because we work hard enough to make it happen. It comes when we allow God’s Spirit to flow in us and through us.

Watching For What’s Already Here (Advent 1)

Isaiah 2: 1-5 & Romans 13: 11-14

Roger Lynn

December 3, 2017

First Sunday in Advent

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

(click here for the video of the entire worship service - the sermon begins at 21:09)

Today we enter the season of Advent. This is the beginning of a new year in the liturgical calendar of the Church. It is when we begin again to tell the story of faith. We lift up themes of hope, peace, joy and love. We speak in hushed whispers of expectation and anticipation as we watch and wait and prepare for the message of Christmas – the coming of Christ into the world. There is a stillness about this season, as we wait in the pre-dawn darkness for the wonder of the new sunrise. This is a season for stories, poetry, and metaphor, because the reality we are trying to describe far outstrips the ability of our language to express. When we approach the Sacred by fully immersing ourselves in such stories and rituals we stand a chance of experiencing the fullness of God in ways which are far deeper and richer than mere thinking allows. 

Thankful Living with God at the Center

Matthew 6: 25-33

Roger Lynn

November 19, 2017

Thanksgiving Sunday

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

(click here for the video for the whole worship service - the sermon starts at 23:00)

We are regularly bombarded by messages of scarcity. “There is not enough – not enough food, not enough money, not enough oil, not enough safety, not enough love, not enough God. We are not enough – not smart enough, not strong enough, not attractive enough, not spiritual enough, not good enough.” Such messages hit us fast and hard and often from all sides – including even from inside ourselves. And to the extent that we believe these messages of scarcity we fall prey to one of the great falsehoods of our day. It simply is not true. We live in an abundant universe. We worship an abundant God. There is enough, and more than enough. We are enough, and more than enough.

Four days from now we will be celebrating Thanksgiving in this country. Beyond just the massive quantities of food and excessive hours of football, Thanksgiving has traditionally been a time set aside for reflection. It is an opportunity for us to bring our gratitude into the foreground of our consciousness so that it might color and shape the whole of our living, not just for a few hours on a Thursday afternoon in November, but from that moment forward into the rest of our days. We have a chance to ponder the presence in our lives of our family and friends, the roof over our heads and the food on our tables, the world we have to live in and the breath which fills our lungs. In the words of Maria von Trapp in “The Sound of Music” – we simply remember our favorite things.

Success Reinterpreted

Mark 10: 35-45

Roger Lynn

November 12, 2017

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

(click here for the video for the entire worship service - the sermon starts at 5:25)

How To Succeed . . . in business, in sports, in romance, in life. You name the specific topic and you will likely find at least one “How To Succeed” title listed on Amazon, not to mention a variety of week-end seminars and late-night infomercials. And if James and John had been alive today, they would have been the first in line for all of them. They had apparently been paying enough attention to grasp the age-old adage: “It’s not what you know - it’s who you know.” It’s all about making contacts. And they thought they had hit the jackpot! They were on a first name basis with God’s main man! The contacts just don’t get any better than that. And they weren’t about to pass up the opportunity to press their advantage. “Hey Jesus, can you do us a favor?” (You can almost see the arm around the shoulder.) “We’re looking to score big in the eternal life department, and we’re pretty sure you can get us the best seats in the house. How about it?”

The problem, of course, is that they apparently hadn’t been paying as much attention to Jesus as they had to the “How to succeed” paperback they’d picked up cheap at a garage sale somewhere. Because if they had, they would never have asked the question in the first place, or at least would have had some clue as to the answer Jesus was about to hand them. But as was so often the case with all of the disciples, they once again demonstrate a profound ability to miss the point completely. 

All Saints: We All Have a Place at the Table

Revelation 7: 9-12 & Matthew 5: 1-12

Roger Lynn

November 5, 2017

(CLICK HERE for the audio for this sermon)

(CLICK HERE for the video of the entire worship service - the sermon begins at about 16:40)

All Saints Day was this past Wednesday. I really appreciate this particular tradition in the life of the Church. It is so expansive and inclusive and abundant. In contrast to the ways in which we sometimes think of ourselves in terms of our limitations, or our isolation, or our inadequacy (in short, all the reasons why God wouldn’t, couldn’t, shouldn’t care about us), All Saints Day reminds us that we are all beloved of God, that we all have a place reserved just for us at God’s table, right next to all the rest of God’s beloved.

Living In God’s Abundance

Ezekiel 37: 1-14 & John 11: 28-44

Roger Lynn

October 29, 2017

Stewardship Commitment Sunday

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

(click here for the video for the whole worship service - including this sermon, which begins at 00:24:00)

Life! Abundant life! Bubbling up to overflowing. That is the gift God offers. In the story of Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones, and in John’s story about the raising of Lazarus, the message is clear. The life which pours forth from God cannot be stopped. We might lose sight of it. We might doubt it. We might believe there is only death. But in the end, God’s life is the reality which wins out. Even when it seems as if we are nothing but old, dry, disconnected bones. Even when it seems as if we might as well be dead and rotting in the grave. Nothing in heaven or on earth can stand in the way of God’s abundant life when we choose to open ourselves to the flow of that transforming reality.

Growing In God’s Abundance

Genesis 1:29  – 2:3 & Psalm 126

Roger Lynn

October 22, 2017

Stewardship Emphasis - Part 1

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

(click here for the video of the whole worship service - the sermon starts at 17:00)

In the interest of full disclosure, I want to begin by letting you know that this is a stewardship sermon. Actually, this is the first of two stewardship sermons. And by the time I’m finished preaching next Sunday, I hope you will be convinced that making a generous financial commitment to the church is a really good idea. But before we go any further down that road, I want to make you a promise. You will never hear me say (or even imply) that you “should” give anything. I believe there are any number of really good reasons why you might actually enjoy making the choice to contribute to the work of the church. But guilt and obligation are not on the list. In fact, they are specifically and intentionally excluded from the list. The church is not Costco or a health club. You do not have to pay a fee to participate. Indeed, if someone is giving simply because they think they have to, then most of the value of the gift has been drained away, because stewardship is really about so much more than just raising money. It is about participating in the flow of God’s abundance.

Too often we begin our consideration of giving from a perspective of scarcity rather than abundance. “There isn’t enough to go around.” “I wish I could do more, but I just don’t have enough.” “Enough” is, of course, always subjective and open to interpretation, and can be applied to whatever particular resource is being discussed at the moment -- money, time, people, whatever. So what if we begin in a completely different way? What if, instead of starting with how much we can give, or even how much is needed, we begin with how much we have? Pretend for a moment that this isn’t a stewardship sermon. Or pretend that you don’t already know that stewardship is about giving. Instead just open yourself up to an awareness of being completely immersed in a universe of abundance. The creation story in the first chapter of Genesis ends with the affirmation that there is enough of everything for everyone, and God’s assessment of the whole affair is one of complete satisfaction. We lose sight of this reality when our vision becomes too narrow. We forget that we are a part of community. We forget that we are a part of God. We forget that we aren’t in this life alone and we don’t have to do it all by ourselves. Whenever we try to fly solo, of course we experience scarcity. None of us on our own is completely self-sufficient. None of us on our own has everything we need to survive – to say nothing of what the world needs to survive. But together, in community, in partnership with God, everything anyone could ever need is present and available, from necessary resources like food and shelter to more esoteric needs such as compassion and friendship. We live in a world of abundance. We are participants in that abundance. And everything falls into place in a more helpful and satisfying way when we begin with that awareness.

Come & Find the Quiet Center

Mark 1: 35 & Psalm 46

Roger Lynn

October 15, 2017

(CLICK HERE for the audio for this sermon)
(CLICK HERE for the video of the whole worship service - the sermon starts at 17:50)

We live fast-paced lives in a fast-paced world. Even the most relaxed and easy-going among us are exposed to more hectic cultural noise than our grandparents could ever have dreamed of. We have microwaves at home and fast food in the car, high-speed internet,  express lanes on the freeway, TSA-pre-approved lines at the airport, 24-hour shopping and “all news all the time” television channels, cell phones and e-mail and instant messaging for those times when e-mail is just too slow and Twitter for when instant messaging just isn’t good enough. Multitasking is considered a prized skill. I’m exhausted just thinking about it all. And it only seems to be speeding up all the time.

Heading for Home

Hebrews 11: 1-3 & 8-16

Roger Lynn

October 8, 2017

(CLICK HERE for the audio for this sermon)

Home! It’s a word that evokes a powerful sense of longing. We talk about being homesick. After we’ve been away for a while we know how good it feels to be home again. When we want someone to feel comfortable and welcome we invite them to “make themselves at home.” At its heart, the idea of home has less to do with place than it does with a sense of belonging.  Home really is where the heart is.

The writer of the book of Hebrews spends a great deal of time elaborating on various Old Testament figures who are lifted up as models of faithful living. And one of the characteristics which is associated with such faithfulness has to do with “seeking a homeland” – a “better country.” Part of what it means to be faithful is to pay attention to our yearning for “home.” It is a reality we can barely even imagine most of the time – something we catch only in occasional glimpses. And yet, deep down in the core of our being, we know it is real – more real that the pale reflections we so often encounter in the course of our living. Just because it hasn’t yet been fully realized in our lives doesn’t mean we stop looking. Like Abraham, and all the other faithful characters listed in the book of Hebrews, we continue to move forward, seeking a homeland that is defined by being fully aware of the ongoing presence of God. In their song about seeking just such a home, the group “The Wailin’ Jennys” sing,

When we find what we’re looking for

We’ll drop these bags & search no more

Because it’s going to feel like heaven when we’re home.

Bread for the Journey

1 Corinthians 11: 23-25 & Mark 6: 7-12

Roger Lynn

October 1, 2017

World Communion Sunday

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

They come in a whole variety of shapes and sizes. They are know by a great many names. They are private and they are public. They are elaborate and they are simple. They are ancient and they are modern. I’m talking about rituals – spiritual practices – sacraments. Probably for as long as human beings have been aware of the world around us we have engaged in symbolic activities intended to put us in touch with the Great Mystery beyond ourselves.

For Christians, one of the central of these activities is communion. Gathering together to break the bread and share the cup has been at the heart of Christian worship from the very beginning of the Church. It is powerful in its simplicity – a meal, nourishment, fellowship, remembering, sharing, hospitality. It has always been a corporate act –  something which draws us together. In John’s Gospel Jesus prays at this meal for the unity of those who share it. 

Hope Beyond Our Enemy Images

Isaiah 25: 1-9

Roger Lynn

September 24, 2017

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

In ways both subtle and blatant, across all aspects of our life and culture, our lives have been and continue to be shaped by enemy images. There is an understanding of “how the world works” which operates at a deep level and assumes that the world is divided into “us” and “them,” and that “they” are out to get “us.” It seems that in every new election cycle this attitude takes on ever increasing intensity. We see it in the news. We find it in our Facebook pages. We watch it unfold in the midst of our own community. Sometimes we hear it preached from the pulpit and we even read it in the pages of scripture.  It is a world view which is so ubiquitous and pervasive as to be almost invisible. It hides in the shadows, flies below our radar and slips past our awareness. All too often we tend to think it simply is the way things are and the way they always will be, because we think it is the way things always have been.

Beyond the God of Violence

2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:15a

Roger Lynn

September 17, 2017

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

You have heard me say it before, and now you are going to hear me say it again – because it is still true and it bears repeating. What we believe about God matters. It makes a difference in how we experience life. It makes a difference in how we live. And how we think about God is greatly influenced by the stories we hear as a part of our religious tradition.

So when I read the story in 2 Samuel about what Nathan had to say to King David, my first thought is to just ignore the whole thing. I simply don’t want to deal with one more example of violence being understood as God’s will. But then I realize that I can’t in good conscience just walk away from it. I need to stand up and say as clearly and as forcefully as I can possibly manage that violence is not the way of God.

Following Christ Into God’s Future

Luke 10: 25-37

September 10, 2017

Roger Lynn

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

Sixteen years ago tomorrow we watched a scene of unimaginable violence and destruction unfold before us. Two enormous towers in New York collapsed into a pile of rubble. A hole was punched into the side of the Pentagon. And a plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Approximately 3,000 people died in the attacks. Countless more have died in the years since then in the various wars which have been waged in response. And a shadow of fear has fallen over our nation and our world that at times threatens to engulf us completely. 

In the wake of such overwhelming devastation, darkness and fear, we who seek to be people of faith are left to ponder the question of how best to respond. Because we live in a complex and complicated world such a response will not be simple and it will not be easy. But because we follow Jesus in our quest to live faithfully there are certain basic qualities which must be included in any response we make.

Rest

Luke 10: 38-42

Roger Lynn

September 3, 2017

Labor Day Week-end

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

Tomorrow is Labor Day, a holiday set aside to honor those who work for a living. We make this tribute by taking a break from our labors. And in so doing we join a very old tradition. In the opening chapters of Genesis we are told that at the end of the process of creating the world God took a day off to rest. This practice is enshrined in the religious tradition of Sabbath. There is an awareness, at a very deep and basic level, that human beings cannot long survive on a steady diet of nothing but work. We need rest. We need play. We need recreation. There is a reason why the phrase “working ourselves to death” is a part of our cultural lexicon.

Unfortunately, we often seem to forget this important truth. We have inherited a “work ethic” in our culture which frequently leaves us feeling guilty about any time not spent in the pursuit of something “productive.” I once knew a gifted, creative woman who felt guilty whenever she spent time with her art. All too often we have taken to heart the message that if it isn’t making money then it is of no value. And so we spend our lives in frantic pursuit of fulfillment, never quite recognizing that it remains elusive as long as the search is defined by our franticness. We are like Martha – so busy with our “important” work that we fail to notice we have Jesus sitting in our living room.

No Limits

Isaiah 49: 1-7 & John 1: 35-42

Roger Lynn 

August 27, 2017

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

Isaiah speaks of being called by God for a grand and glorious purpose. The “servant” he writes about is not a single individual, but rather all people. Specifically he speaks of the people of Israel, but I do not believe it is too much of a stretch to hear in his words a bold proclamation for all of us. He writes at a time when the Hebrew people were living in exile in Babylon – far from home, far from the place where their faith found expression, far from all that was familiar and comforting. And into these bleak circumstances Isaiah speaks a powerful word of hope – that God is calling them to a life of meaning and purpose beyond anything they can possibly imagine. He challenges them to begin thinking in truly grand, global terms – to lift their eyes beyond their own perceived limitations and recognize the ways in which they can impact the world. “It is too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6) Their purpose in life is far beyond merely taking care of themselves. They are called to be the bearers of God’s light into the whole world.

Remembering Our Roots

Psalm 104: 1-23

Roger Lynn

August 20, 2017

Outdoor Worship

(because this was an informal outdoor worship experience it was not recorded, so there is no audio for the sermon this week)

We are people of the earth. The stuff we are made of is the stuff the earth is made of. We are a part of creation. We are connected to the rest of creation. In the mythic, poetic imagery of the creation story found in the second chapter of Genesis, we are formed from the dust of the earth. Unfortunately, we sometimes seem reluctant to recognize and acknowledge that part of our human heritage. It seems beneath us somehow. We would much prefer to focus on the part of the creation story where God breathed life into us with the divine spirit. The rest just seems far too messy for our tastes.

But when we forget, or refuse to remember, our earthy roots and our connection with the rest of creation, then all sorts of unfortunate and destructive consequences seem to follow. We lose track of who we are. We lose track of the part we play in keeping the world in balance. We lose track of how vitally important it is to stay connected with each other, with the world around us and with God. We start to believe that we can get along just fine on our own. Pretty soon we find ourselves treating other human beings with less respect than they need. We start treating the planet and her resources with less respect than is healthy. We read the newspapers and listen to the news and wonder how in the world things got this bad. And the answer, at least in part, is that we, as a society, as a people, individually and collectively, have forgotten to remember our roots. We have forgotten to remember our heritage as people who are intimately and inextricably connected to the earth.

The Path to God: Love One Another!

1 John 3: 16-24

Roger Lynn

August  13, 2017

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

Believing in God can be a rather nebulous thing sometimes. We say we trust, but we are, after all, only human. We get distracted. It’s hard to stay connected with a God we can’t touch or see. So, down through the years, various people have come up with various ways to make sure – pray a particular prayer, with your body in a particular position, at a particular time each day; profess belief in a particular statement; give a specified amount of money to a particular organization; sacrifice an animal in a particular way; eat certain foods; don’t eat certain foods; cut your hair; don’t cut your hair; obey certain rules; associate with certain people; don’t associate with certain people; and on and on the list goes. Admittedly, there can be a certain comfort that comes from knowing what you have to do to be in God’s good graces. Except it’s hardly ever quite that simple. What if I didn’t do it just right? What if I made a mistake and didn’t even notice? What if I do everything just exactly right, and it still doesn’t feel like God is with me? What if . . . ? What if . . . ?

It Happened at Dance Camp

2 Samuel 6:5
Roger Lynn
August 6, 2017
(click here for the audio for this sermon)

I spent this past week basking in bliss at Wilderness Dance Camp on the shore of Flathead Lake. The Dances of Universal Peace are a deeply spiritual practice for me, and they are also an experience that is difficult to describe. They consist of simple body movements done with a group in a circle, combined with the singing of songs which are inspired by the faith traditions of the world. They are heart based, rather than head based. And they help me remember that in spite of the different words and different images being used, faith, wherever and however it appears, is about helping us connect to Sacred Source. This is what I posted on Facebook last Sunday when we arrived at camp: 85 open-hearted people + a beautiful, colorful, open air tent + amazing musicians + singing beautiful sacred songs from the world's faith traditions + dancing barefoot on grass = an absolutely perfect way to spend a week. It is an experience that feeds all my senses – from the visually beautiful tent we dance under, to the acoustically wonderful music, to the taste of delicious food, to the smell of the trees, to the feel of feet on grass and hands holding hands – and that whole delicious sensual feast feeds my soul. Our guest dance leader, Grace Marie, introduced us to a Shamanic Creation Prayer which expresses all of this quite wonderfully.

Every leaf of every tree feeds my soul.

The sun and the rain feeds my soul.

And every creature of the earth, and of the air, and of the waters feeds my soul.

And every being that I meet feeds my soul.

All of creation feeds my soul.

It Happened at Church Camp

1 Corinthians 12: 4-13
Roger Lynn
July 30, 2017
(click here for the audio for this sermon)

I spent this past week watching a miracle unfold before my eyes. In fact, I participated in the unfolding. And I want to tell you about it because you made it possible for me to be there in the midst of the unfolding. Last week I was the chaplain at the middle school camp at Mimanagish, our church’s camp located on the Boulder River in the middle of the wilderness about an hour south of Big Timber. I could spend the week doing that because you allowed me the time to be there. I was, quite literally, there on your behalf. So it seems fitting that I share with you a bit of what took place in that amazingly beautiful setting. 

God in the Ordinary

Genesis 2: 4b-7

Roger Lynn

July 16, 2017

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

We find ourselves in the midst of summer. Long, warm days. No major holidays on the horizon. The stuff of which everyday life is made. What can we say about such times? Where do we find evidence of the Sacred in these days which stretch before us?

The second creation story in Genesis says that we human beings were formed from the dust of the earth. Pretty ordinary building material for something as extraordinary as the human body. And then along comes Jesus, with lots to say about the life which He was offering. He makes reference to qualities like joy and peace and hope and love. He uses descriptions like fullness and abundance. And the really exciting thing is that it is a message for all of us, all of the time. It is not something which is offered only to a chosen few. It is not something which is offered only some of the time. It has to do with everyday, ordinary, extraordinary folks like you and me, in the midst of our everyday, ordinary, extraordinary existences. The following, then, are some thoughts on God and the ordinary.

Where Does God Fit?

Matthew 22: 15-22

Roger Lynn

July 9, 2017

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

The religious leaders wanted a quick and easy answer. They wanted to know if Jesus was on their side. Actually, they were pretty sure they already knew the answer. They wanted the world to be black and white, good and bad. They offered him two choices. If he agreed with their understanding of the world he would be a hero. If he disagreed with their understanding of the world he would be a villain. What they got instead was not at all what they expected. Jesus chose a third path, which was to hand the whole thing back to them.

“Render unto Caesar...” he said. It is a saying so familiar that we have mostly stopped really hearing what it says. Or more precisely, what it does not say. I would venture to guess that most of us, most of the time, hear Jesus saying something like, “Pay your taxes and don’t get money matters confused with spiritual matters. If it’s got the government seal on it, then it is separate from the things of God.” But listen closely. He doesn’t actually say that. He doesn’t actually define what is Caesar’s and what is God’s. The Pharisees get to decide that for themselves. We get to decide that for ourselves. And that, more than any particular answer to any particular question, is precisely the point. Faith is not about someone handing us a set of answers and us blindly accepting them. That’s what the Pharisees were looking for. They wanted to be the ones in charge of the answers. They wanted Jesus to agree with them. But not only did Jesus not agree with their answers. He didn’t even agree with the premise of the question. It’s not about a simple list of answers to questions like, “Should we pay our taxes?” Answers to such questions will come, but that’s not where we begin. We begin with a much more basic question - “Where does God fit in your life? Where does God fit in the world?” That is where we must begin if we are to understand Jesus’ answer about rendering unto Caesar and rendering unto God. Where does God’s domain begin and end?

How Shall We Live In Our Freedom?

Luke 10: 1-11

Roger Lynn

July 2, 2017

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

One of the ways to talk about what Jesus gave to his disciples is in terms of freedom. He freed them from the bondage of judgment. He freed them from the oppression of fear. He freed them from the burden of a concept of God which was vindictive and exclusive. He freed them to an expansive understanding of love and meaning and purpose. By living with them and sharing himself with them and allowing them to glimpse the God with whom he was intimately connected, he changed their lives forever.

This did not happen overnight, however. One of the great gifts of the Gospels is the way in which they offer us a picture of faith “in process.” Time and again we find the disciples starting down unhelpful paths, only to be called back again. The question, for them and for us, is “How shall we live in our freedom?” What does life look like when we really begin to allow this amazing gift of God’s freedom to percolate up to the surface of our living? Sometimes what we find in the Gospels are examples of what it doesn’t look like. In Luke’s Gospel, in the chapter just prior to our text for this morning, we see the disciples wanting to call down fire from heaven because some people weren’t as excited about Jesus as they were. Jesus let them know that such an approach was not helpful. At other times what we find in the Gospels are examples of what it does look like. Also in Luke’s Gospel we read about a man who was losing the battle with the demons which were tormenting him, until Jesus called him back to himself and thus restored him to full, rich living. And then there are the places in the Gospels (like today’s reading) where there is a little bit of both.

Radical Hospitality

Mark 9: 33-37

Roger Lynn

June 25, 2017

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

Last Sunday we spent some time reflecting on the importance of inviting others to “come and see” what it is that God is doing in your life and in our congregation that gives you so much excitement you simply can’t keep it to yourself. Today I want to spend some time reflecting on the next step. Beyond extending a “come and see” invitation, what are we called to do, how are we called to live, in order to help create an atmosphere that enhances the possibility of someone actually responding to the invitation? 

Over and over again Jesus shared with the disciples a vision of a radically different way of doing life. And over and over again the disciples failed to grasp what he was telling them. Down through the years we’ve been pretty hard on the disciples. Why couldn’t they see what Jesus was trying to tell them? Why were they always missing the point? But the truth of the matter is, we in the Church have had 2,000 years to take seriously what Jesus was trying to teach, and yet frequently we still miss the point. Even the reasons why have remained the same – it’s hard. The way of life which Jesus is promoting, and modeling, and teaching, is difficult. It’s not particularly difficult to understand. The basic idea is really pretty simple. But it is difficult to accept, and it is even more difficult to live out, because it stands in such stark contrast with so much of what our culture teaches us, and even our own common sense seems to tell us, about how to live life.

Come & See – Go & Share

John 1:35-42

Roger Lynn

June 18, 2017

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

I believe there is a deep longing woven into the very fabric of our being – a desire to be in connection with the eternal sacred reality which we sometimes call God. To paraphrase an ancient prayer attributed to Augustine of Hippo, “God made us for God’s self, and our hearts are restless until they rest in God.”  Some people are very aware of this longing and spend their lives consciously and intentionally seeking ways to establish and nurture such a connection. Others are largely unaware of the longing, and so spend their lives trying to fill a hole they don’t really understand or even recognize. But I believe that we are most fully and completely and richly ourselves when we live in deep, intimate, ongoing relationship with the Sacred Source of Life.

This Might Get Out Of Control

Ezekiel 37: 1-14 & Acts 2: 1-21

Roger Lynn

June 4, 2017

Pentecost

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Both scripture stories today are filled with powerful, dramatic,  mythic imagery – dry bones reforming, wind, fire, a cacophony of sound. When God’s Spirit is allowed to really come into play the status quo is in for a serious shakeup. And for many of us, that can be an uncomfortable place to live. When the wind begins to howl and the bones begin to rattle we tend to get a bit unsettled. We prefer more control in our lives. We’d rather have some predictability. Instead, we get the Holy Spirit.

I once saw a cartoon which featured the Pentecost scene described in the second chapter of Acts – the wind is blowing and flames are dancing over everyone’s heads. And around the edge of the room are people with worried looks on their faces, dressed in firefighter clothes, holding hoses. The caption reads, “This might get out of control!” That is sometimes how we feel when confronted with the reality of God’s presence in our lives and in our world. “This might get out of control, and I’m not at all sure I like it. It is not safe. There’s no telling where we might end up.”