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

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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.”