Radical Spirit Powered Living

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John 20: 19-23

Roger Lynn

April 26, 2020

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If you heard my sermon from last week, then you may have a sense of déjà vu. This is not the same sermon, but I discovered that I wasn’t quite done with the theme. So this is more like part two of what I shared last Sunday.

Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia! That is the ancient proclamation of the Church. It is the excitement of Easter. It is a powerful slogan and rallying cry. But we dare not stop there. If we leave worship on Easter Sunday saying, “Wasn’t that wonderful!” and then simply carry on with business as usual, we have largely missed the point. If our faith goes no further than Christ’s resurrection, then we are still left with the “so what?” question, or at the very least the “now what?” question. What does it have to do with us, and what does it call us to do with our lives?

Almost since the beginning the Church has answered such questions by proclaiming that Christ’s resurrection has everything to do with us, and we are called to respond by living. Actually, we are called to respond by living fully and radically and with each other. The book of Acts puts it well when it describes the early church by saying, “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul...” (Acts 4:32) Elsewhere in the New Testament this is referred to as koinonia, which is the Greek word for fellowship or deep, intimate sharing of life. This becomes possible as we begin to live into God’s gift of abundant life which Christ’s resurrection announces. Such living dares to be radically inclusive and radically compassionate because it is powered by nothing less than the all-giving Spirit of God.

Christ is Risen! Now what?

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John 20: 19-23

Roger Lynn

April 19, 2020

First Sunday after Easter

(the audio for this sermon is unavailable this week)
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Last Sunday we celebrated the Resurrection and proclaimed, “Christ has risen! Christ has risen indeed!” Our worship time was a remarkably uplifting experience. I spent the rest of the day on something of a blissed out ecstatic high. My heart was open, and love and beauty came pouring in. I felt powerfully connected to the Sacred Source of Life. 

Such experiences are important, and can provide a valuable boost to our spiritual lives. And, mountaintop experiences are not the ultimate goal of faith. They offer us a fresh new perspective and they can re-energize our weary souls, but ultimately we must come down from the mountaintop and practice faithful living where we live.

On Easter we shouted, “Christ has risen!” Today we need to ask, “Now what?” Now  that we have had a taste of God’s gift of new life, what comes next? What are we called to do? Who are we called to be? Who are we called to become? These are always important questions to ponder and explore. And right now I believe it is more important than ever to actively consider where we go from here. 

Easter: God’s New Life

John 20: 1-18

Roger Lynn

April 12, 2020

Easter Sunday

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She woke up feeling empty. It was Easter Sunday, but the Covid-19 crisis was still raging, and the Shelter-In-Place order was still in effect. The whole thing had left her feeling drained, and she felt as if there was no life left in her. She wasn’t really dead, of course – at least in the physical sense of that word. Her heart was still pumping blood through her veins, and breath was still flowing in and out of her lungs. But something important inside her had died, and she could no longer really count herself among the living. Yes, that was probably a bit dramatic, but it was how she felt.

How in heaven’s name had it come to this? Well, OK, she had to admit that whatever was going on had certainly not happened “in heaven’s name.” But how had it happened? Her thoughts drifted back over the past few weeks, then the past few months and years, and finally back over her entire life. And slowly it began to come clear. What was the phrase she had heard – the “little deaths” we experience in the course of our living. That is what this felt like – the little deaths of her life had been piling up until finally she found herself laying here feeling dead. 

A Journey Into Covenant: The Storm (Palm/Passion Sunday)

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Mark 11: 1-10 (click here to read the scripture)

Roger Lynn

April 5, 2020

Palm/Passion Sunday

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Throughout this Lenten season we have talked about journeying into covenant with God. It is a nice sounding phrase. It is a noble idea. It is not, however, an easy undertaking, and, at least some of the time, we don’t really want to embark on such a journey. Living into that kind of relationship with God can take us places we would really rather not go. 

This Sunday is a prime example. When I was growing up we called this day Palm Sunday. The focus was almost exclusively on what we sometimes refer to Jesus’ “Triumphal Entry” into the holy city of Jerusalem. But in more recent years I have come to understand that a fuller and more honest way to approach this day is to recognize it as Palm/Passion Sunday, because the parade was only the beginning of a week that took Jesus through experiences of conflict, betrayal, suffering, and death. His entry into Jerusalem might more accurately be described as walking into the storm. I do not want to dwell on the dark side of this week, but I believe it is important to acknowledge it. Otherwise we simply move from celebration to celebration without understanding the ways in which Jesus’ journey relates to our journeys, filled as they are with both celebrations and struggles. Journeying into covenant with God doesn’t ignore or avoid the struggle. It takes us through the struggle to the transformational celebration on the other side.