God’s Yes!

Mark 2: 1-12
Roger Lynn
January 31, 2021
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Yes, you can have the last piece of chocolate cake! Yes, you can go outside and play with your friends! Yes, you have been accepted into the college of your choice! Yes, the bank will loan you the money to buy your first house! Yes, your one true love will marry you! The word “yes” can be used in such wonderful and life-affirming ways. Sometimes it just makes us smile. Other times it can change our life forever.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where “yes” often seems to be in short supply. Whether in the form of war and hatred and bigotry, or hunger and disease and poverty, or tragedy and disaster and loss, there is much which surrounds us and fills our days which is life-destroying, rather than life-affirming. At times it is tempting to wonder if “yes” really even belongs in the human language or has become obsolete. There seems to be so much around us (and sometimes even within us) which is ugly and hurtful. How can a word like “yes” find it’s way back into our experience in any truly meaningful way?

But when we open ourselves to God’s presence in our lives and in our world, “yes” is precisely the experience which comes into focus! Despite all the darkness which at times seems to fill our world, God chooses to affirm and call forth the light which is within us. In his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul declares Jesus Christ to be God’s divine and glorious “Yes!” to all of us – both affirmation and promise. It is as if God is saying, “I am sending Christ to you so that you can begin to understand just how much I believe in you!” What a powerful message for us to receive! God says “Yes!” to humanity! That is front page, banner headline news!

Jesus certainly proclaimed this message during his life among us – not only with his words, but also with his actions. In the passage which we heard from Mark’s Gospel this morning, we find Jesus confronting the religious authorities of his day. At the heart of this confrontation was the tension between authority and power which is based in rules versus authority and power which is based in compassion. For the religious leaders, rules defined their lives. In contrast, Jesus put people ahead of rules every time. Such an attitude often placed him in conflict with those in positions of power, but it is one of the ways in which the message of God’s “Yes!” is communicated to us.

A paralyzed man was brought to Jesus by four very determined friends. Even the crowd which had surrounded Jesus could not keep them away. Not even physical barriers such as a roof would deter them. Their friend was in need and they believed that Jesus could help, so they did whatever was necessary to bring the two together. And when the man is finally presented to Jesus, the first thing Jesus does is announce that his sins have been forgiven. This kind of language can seem less than helpful, in part because the idea that we are all sinners carries with it so much negative baggage it can begin to feel like it wholly and completely defines us. But I believe there is good news to be found in this story from Mark’s Gospel. Whether or not you think this heavy emphasis on sin and the need for forgiveness is helpful, such an understanding of the world was certainly central for the people of Jesus’ day. And directly linked with that view was an understanding that such forgiveness was closely regulated and not freely available. Then along comes Jesus, openly, freely, and liberally declaring the forgiveness of sins. The religious authorities were disturbed because they thought Jesus was being presumptuous in offering forgiveness, when in reality what he was doing was simply announcing that which was already true. God’s forgiveness (or love, or compassion, or whatever other “yes” word you might care to substitute) is freely offered to any and all who will open themselves to receive it. It is interesting that the crime which they thought Jesus guilty of – offering that which only God can offer – was far less dangerous than what he was actually guilty of – throwing open the doors to an expansive new understanding of who God is and how God relates to us. By comparison, the mere healing of the man’s physical paralysis was almost an after-thought. But whether Jesus was bringing wholeness to spirit, mind, or body, he was declaring that God’s “Yes!” is more powerful than any “no” which could possibly confront us.

So, what form does God’s “Yes!” take in our lives today? What are the specific messages of “no” which God is countering with the divine “Yes!” of God’s love and grace? Do you believe you are unworthy of love? God believes otherwise! Are you afraid to step out and risk experiencing some new opportunity? God is offering both courage and companionship. Is there some hidden shame from your past which is weighing you down and holding you back? God invites you to let go of old baggage and turn towards the light of God’s future which is waiting for you. Are there broken dreams or broken relationships which have left you wounded and paralyzed? God is calling you to a new wholeness and limitless new possibilities. Whatever specific shape the “no” in our lives takes, God’s “Yes!” is up to the challenge of transforming us. God stands waiting to affirm us in all of our glorious, messy, God-given potential. We can accept the limitations of the world’s “no” or we can accept the possibilities of God’s “Yes!” May we choose to agree with God, and say “Yes!”

Beating A Path To God’s Door

Mark 1: 40-42 & Psalm 30
Roger Lynn
January 24, 2021

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I believe that God is always present and active in our lives in profoundly powerful and intimate ways. There is nothing we can do which can change this reality. I also believe that there are times when it doesn’t feel like that at all. There are occasions in each of our lives when it feels as if God is a million miles away and has no interest in us whatsoever. Sometimes it can even feels as if God is actively working against us. One of the great gifts which the Psalms offer us is a powerful expression of this experience. “For God’s anger is but for a moment – God’s favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night – but joy comes with the morning. . .You hid your face – I was dismayed.” (Psalms 30:5&6) Ultimately, in the bright light of our better moments, we can know that God and God’s relationship with us are not defined by anger, judgment, and punishment, but at the very least the Psalms provide us with insight into how it feels sometimes when we find ourselves in those “dark nights of the soul.” In Psalm 30 we find a marvelous contrast between the highs and the lows which life brings. The challenge of faith is not found so much in the good times, when we are inspired to offer praise, but rather in how we handle the struggles which come in the hard times. One of the things which I appreciate about the Psalms is their tenacity. Nothing is out of bounds. If the psalmist is angry with God, they say so. If they feel abandoned by God, they say so. And they keep coming at it until they find some resolution. In Psalm 30, we find emotions ranging from elation to dismay, but finally we find a willingness to hang in there with the struggle long enough to discover the joy which God has to offer. “You have turned my mourning into dancing. You have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.” (Psalm 30:11-12) Such a conclusion was not reached quickly or easily. It came at the end of a long and difficult journey.

The man with leprosy in the story from Mark’s Gospel exhibits that same kind of tenacity. It is likely that he grew up being heavily exposed to the Psalms because some of their approach to life and faith seems to have rubbed off. But whatever the reason, he sees in Jesus an opportunity for change and he grabs it with both hands. “A leper came to Jesus begging him, and kneeling he said to Jesus, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” (Mark 1:40) As with the Psalms, this says more about the leper’s experience than it does about the nature and character of Jesus or God. It is not that God requires us to beg and grovel. When faced with this encounter, Jesus immediately responds, “I do choose. Be made clean!” (Mark 1:41) But from the leper’s perspective, the situation was desperate. He had spent his life being shut out, cut off, and isolated. God may have been fully present in his life, but it was a presence the man was unable to experience or appreciate. And so it was that he found himself drawing upon the approach which is modeled and encouraged in the Psalms. He chooses to confront Jesus with his desperation. And in so doing, his life is forever transformed.

What, then, does all of this have to do with our lives? What are the ways in which we feel cut-off and isolated from God? How can we respond to such experiences in positive and life-enhancing ways? We might begin by simply acknowledging that there are, indeed, times in our lives when God does seem far off and removed. Such experiences may be common for you or they may be very rare. They may be short-lived or they may last for long periods of time. They may be profoundly disturbing or quietly unsettling. But regardless of the specifics, I suspect that most people experience such isolation from God at least once in a while during their lives. The causes can vary from the dramatic to the mundane – a tragic and devastating loss or the boredom which gradually creeps into our routines, the overwhelming barrage of the horrific news which comes to us every day in the media or the slowly numbing stress of a pandemic that’s been building for months. But however such experiences happen and whatever particular form they take, it is important to acknowledge such experiences when they find their way into our lives, rather than simply ignore them and hope they will go away. And for that, we can draw on the example of both the psalmist and the man who confronts Jesus. The way out is through.

When we feel like God is a million miles away, a helpful course of action is to begin beating a path to God’s door. In his book “Wishful Thinking” Frederick Buechner offers some thoughts about prayer, which, however we understand it, can be an important way of establishing, restoring, and maintaining a connection with God. He writes, “According to Jesus, by far the most important thing about praying is to keep at it. . .Be importunate, Jesus says – not, one assumes, because you have to beat a path to God’s door before God will open it, but because until you beat the path maybe there’s no way of getting to your door. . .(What about) when, listened to or not listened to, the prayer goes unanswered? Who knows? Just keep praying, Jesus says. . .Keep on beating the path to God’s door, because the one thing you can be sure of is that down the path you beat with even your most half-cocked and halting prayer the God you call upon will finally come, and even if God does not bring you the answer you want, God will bring you God’s self.” (Frederick Buechner, “Wishful Thinking,” page 71)

So what do we do when we feel like God has abandoned us or has turned against us. We wait. But we need not wait passively or meekly. Take a cue from the Psalms and practice persistence. Don’t be afraid to tell God how you feel, in no uncertain terms. Yell and scream and kick if you have to. Beat a path to God’s door, because maybe that is the only way to clear the path to your own door. May we remember that God is always present in our lives and in our world – even when it doesn’t feel that way at all. God will come, because God is already here, and in the words of Frederick Buechner, “Maybe at the secret heart of all our prayers that is what we are really praying for.” (Frederick Buechner, “Wishful Thinking,” page 71)

Love In Practice

1 Corinthians 8: 1-10 & Mark 1: 21-27
Roger Lynn
January 17, 2021

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Paul debates with the Corinthian church about eating food offered to idols. Jesus drives out an evil spirit. These two scripture passages are obviously from another time and another way of looking at the world. In our modern view, we tend not to believe in demons or unclean spirits, and food offered to idols is really a non-issue. So, at first glance both of the scripture passages for this morning would seem to be completely irrelevant for us. OK, I’ll just stop talking now.

Or, we could spend a few minutes exploring what these ancient and seemingly irrelevant passages might have to say about faith even in these modern times in which we live. First, it must be noted that while spirit possession and idol worship are not generally a part of our world view, they were very much a part of the way in which people understood the world 2,000 years ago. They were not silly superstitions which could simply be dismissed. Second, it is important to recognize that what they have to teach us is not so much related to the specifics of those issues as it is to the broader topic of how faith shapes the ways in which we live our lives in the world.

Paul was writing to the new Corinthian church because it was being torn apart by people’s selfish disregard for the well-being of others with whom they shared fellowship. This took a number of different specific forms, but the one which is addressed in our scripture for today centered around an arrogant self-confidence in personal knowledge which had failed to include love in the formula. The issue was whether or not to eat meat which had been offered to idols. The city of Corinth was a very cosmopolitan center with a poly-theistic world view. Amongst the abundance of gods being worshipped, animal sacrifice would often have been involved. One of the side-effects of such activity was the sale of the excess meat which was not required for the sacrifice. This is where the problem arose for folks newly converted to the Christian faith, with its emphasis on One God and the mandate to worship only that One God. Did the eating of meat which had been a part of a pagan sacrifice constitute participation in that sacrifice and thus a compromise of their faith? For some, having only recently come out of such religious practices themselves, the answer was clearly yes. For others, filled with the new notion of “freedom in Christ”, the answer was just as clearly no. “Since we know that there is only one true God, then whatever other idols and gods might be found have no real power or substance. Therefore, whatever sacrifices are made to such gods are also empty and without meaning. Eating such meat cannot affect the person whose confidence is in Christ.” To some extent, Paul was in agreement with this position, but that was not ultimately the point. “Freedom in Christ” and the “knowledge” which comes to us through our new faith cannot be the ultimate guide for our lives. If, by exercising such freedom and knowledge in “non-essential” areas such as eating meat, we injure the faith of someone else, however much weaker we might consider such faith to be, then we have sacrificed the heart of the gospel, which is love, and we have ignored one of Jesus’ central teachings, which is wholeness. For Paul, faith is more than a personal matter and it is more than an intellectual exercise. We are called to care for the needs of others and we are called to do so in practical, real-life ways. This doesn’t mean ignoring our own values and sacrificing our personal integrity, but it does mean considering the well-being of others when we make our choices.

In Mark’s Gospel we find an interesting combination of stories which says much about how Jesus understood faith. The passage begins with Jesus teaching in the synagogue and the people being amazed at his teaching. Then we are told about the incident with the unclean spirit. And finally, we return to the theme of Jesus’ teaching. These are not unrelated incidents which have been accidentally or carelessly lumped together by an inept storyteller. Mark apparently understood Jesus’ teaching to be about more than just words, since the whole Gospel of Mark reports far fewer of Jesus’ words than any of the other Gospels. What we do hear about, however, is Jesus’ actions. And we hear about those actions within the context of Jesus’ teaching. They are not separate issues. To speak about his teaching is to speak about what he did and who he was. Jesus came teaching about God’s love and he demonstrated that love by getting personally involved in the lives of those around him and doing what he could to make a positive difference in the quality of their lives.

So, how do we put our faith into action? How do we make love a practical part of how we live our lives? Today both unclean spirits and meat offered to idols take different forms and are called by different names, but the need for us to be involved remains as real as it was in the days of Jesus and Paul. We don’t think in terms of unclean spirits, but there are certainly a myriad of disruptive forces in our world which prevent people from experiencing whole and abundant living. Such forces range from the very personal, such as loneliness, grief, depression, and various addictions, to the truly global, such as poverty, ethnic hatred, violence, and unbridled greed. And we in the Church, as the Body of Christ, can still bear witness to the power of God when we participate in healing such brokenness in our world. We do this through the various outreach ministries of this congregation, including the monies we give and the other community organizations we support. We do this through the wide variety of efforts made by individuals within the congregation whose work makes a difference in our community, including volunteering in the schools and working at Food Share. We do this simply by being the kind of congregation we are, offering a non-judgmental environment where people are welcomed and invited to experience first hand the love and grace of God through the accepting fellowship of this faith-community. We do this whenever we allow love to be our guide in the choices we make and the ways in which we relate to others – when we value connections above rules, and when we remember that our own self-interest is intimately connected with the well-being of everyone.

May we continue to become the people whom God is calling us to be – people who put love into practice as we seek to make a difference in the lives of those around us. May the Spirit of God continue to be present in our midst, binding us together, and leading us into the world to share God’s love in practical, tangible ways. Amen.

The God Of New Beginnings

Genesis 1: 1-5 & Mark 1: 4-11
Roger C. Lynn
January 10, 2021
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I prepared this sermon prior to last Wednesday. And as it turns out, it seems an even more appropriate message for us to hear in these following the events of this past week. I am grateful for the ways in which God’s Spirit is actively present and working in my life and in the world, often even before I am aware of it.

* * * * *

Chaos! A formless void! Darkness! Since the very beginning, God has been remolding and shaping such material into something new. In one way or another, new beginnings are the gifts which God offers to the world and those of us who live here. God’s Spirit, sweeping over the face of the chaos, brings with it the refreshing breath of change which is, finally, the hope of the world. From the opening verses of Genesis, “In the beginning...God created...” (Genesis 1: 1) to the closing verses of Revelation, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21: 5), the scriptures speak over and over again of the God who offers us new beginnings.

And that is good news indeed. Words like chaos, formless void, and darkness often seem to describe more than merely the world as it was before God formed and molded it. Sometimes (often) they are descriptive of our lives and our world as well. The year we have just exited seems like a prime example. There are times when we need nothing more desperately than a new beginning. Whether through unfortunate and unhelpful choices, or circumstances beyond our control, in relationships or our jobs, finances or our internal emotions, we all reach places in our life journey where we find ourselves at the end of a road or the end of our rope, with no idea where to turn or what to do next. Fortunately for us, we worship the God who specializes in transforming dead-ends into new beginnings. We must still do our part – opening ourselves to God’s guidance, stepping out in faith by taking the risk of trying something new. But gifts of insight, wisdom, and courage help to equip us to take such steps with confidence and hope.

John the baptizer stands as a road sign pointing to the ultimate example of God’s gift of new beginnings. He came preaching a baptism of repentance, challenging people to turn their lives around and choose another path. But he also knew that by itself such a message was not likely to produce much in the way of long term results. Even for those folks who took his message to heart and genuinely wanted to begin again, they were still faced with the overwhelming challenge of being human. On our own we are simply not very good at turning around and going a different direction. At least we’re not very good at finding a more helpful directions in which to go. So John’s message did not end with the call to repentance. He also proclaimed the coming of One who would do something to shift the balance in favor of making a lasting difference. “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me... I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1: 7-8) The odds of a new beginning actually sticking increase dramatically when, a) God stands behind it, and b) God’s Spirit is present in the midst of it. No longer are we simply called to change course. God offers us the strength and encouragement and inspiration to make the change in the first place, and then the ongoing guidance and support of God’s presence to keep us moving in the right direction.

In one sense we see the dawning of God’s new age as Jesus emerges from the waters of the Jordan. To follow where he leads is to be a part of God’s great gift of new beginnings. In another sense what we witness in that dramatic moment is nothing new at all. It is simply the definitive declaration of what God has been declaring since the opening moments of the world – God believes in new beginnings, and will keep offering them for as long as we need them.

In Genesis, chaos and darkness are no match for the Spirit of God sweeping over the face of the waters. Something new emerges and God declares it to be good. In our lives, the chaos and darkness which sometimes threaten to overwhelm us are no match for God’s Spirit sweeping over our world and blowing through our lives. The despair of a relationship gone wrong, the boredom of a job without purpose, the pain of a past which seems to control us still, the turmoil of a life without direction, the upheaval of a world turned upside down by a pandemic, social unrest, and political strife – all of these begin to pale and fade in the face of God’s overwhelming desire to offer us a new beginning. As we learn to trust God and seek God’s direction for our lives, we begin to discover new options to explore. We are touched by this new life whenever we dare to risk leaving the old behind and beginning again with God’s help. We have but to remember that the touch of God’s grace is an ongoing reality which we can experience over and over again. God is always and forever seeking to transform our dead-ends into new beginnings, in every moment of every day. It is a gift which is ours for the asking. Indeed, it has already been given. We have only to accept it. May our lives be transformed by the ongoing gift of new beginnings.

Celebrating God’s Light (Epiphany Sunday)

Isaiah 60: 1-6 & Matthew 2: 1-12
Roger Lynn
January 3, 2021
Epiphany Sunday

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Light! Light shining in the darkness! Light illuminating our lives and our world! For longer than anyone can remember, in more places than can be counted, across vast expanses of culture and geography and time, light has been understood as a powerful symbol for that which is good and right and true, or the sacred, or even the presence of God. We see it in so many forms – the shaman dancing around the sacred fire, the druid celebrating the solstice, the ancient astrologers watching the lights in the sky, even the writers of our own scriptures. Isaiah encourages the people to “Arise! Shine! For your light has come!” (Isaiah 60:1) The Gospel of John describes Christ as the Light of God that has come into the world. The reason we celebrate Christmas on December 25th is because that was the winter solstice before the reform of the calendar – the day the light begins to return. The early Church found the symbolism of light returning to the world to be a wonderful way of understanding Christ.

In the liturgical calendar of the Church, January 6th is Epiphany. Traditionally it has been the occasion when we remember the story of the Magi who followed the star to find the child Jesus. But it can also serve as an opportunity to celebrate all epiphany experiences. An epiphany can be understood as an experience when we become aware of the Light of God’s presence in a particularly powerful way. Sometimes epiphanies carry with them specific content. The Wise Men could be said to have had an epiphany which led them to understand the appearance of a new “star” as the herald of something new breaking into human history. Sometimes epiphanies are more general. The day at church camp many years ago when I was dancing and singing across the lawn while my small group pondered the possibility that their counselor had gone insane represented a moment when I was overwhelmed with the awareness that life is good and God is intimately present. Sometimes epiphanies occur all in a flash. The Apostle Paul describes such an experience when he was on the road to Damascus. He had an intimate encounter with God that literally transformed his life. He went from being a persecutor of Christians to being one of Christianity’s most ardent and far-reaching advocates. Sometimes epiphanies build over a long period of time until the cumulative effect of a variety of experiences finally comes into focus and a new understanding emerges. But regardless of the particular form and flavor, epiphanies occur all the time to a wide variety of people, including probably even us. I know they have been a part of my life experience. This is true because God’s presence is all around us all of the time, and God’s desire is for us to be aware of that presence. The only question is whether we pay enough attention to notice.

We can’t force an epiphany. They do not show up on demand. In fact, they can be quite elusive if pursued too directly. But we can set the stage so that we are more likely to recognize them when they come. If an epiphany is becoming aware of the Light of God, then it will be helpful if our awareness is not blocked by walls of narrow, rigid dogma, or a certainty that we already know how the world works. All the enlightenment in the world would have done the Magi no good if, after recognizing the importance of the star, making the decision to follow it, and traveling a great distance, they had been absolutely certain that God could not or would not work through something so mundane and ordinary as a child born to peasant parents. Be prepared to be surprised. If our God is incapable of surprising us, then perhaps we should consider the possibility that our God is too small.

We can also help to encourage epiphanies by talking about them. When you have one (even a seemingly small and inconsequential one), tell someone about it. When we take the risk of putting it out there in the world it stands a chance of becoming real, not only for those who hear it, but also for we who tell the story. And if you are fortunate enough to have someone share their epiphany experience with you, listen. Really listen. Listen for the places where their story resonates with you. Pay attention to the ways in which their story lights you up. In both the telling and the hearing of epiphany tales, our awareness is elevated and we are more likely to recognize other places where God’s Light is shining.

Winter is upon us, and occasionally that means we get to experience snow covering the landscape. And when it happens, all that snow blanketing the countryside gets there one small flake at a time. Our world is filled with the Light of God’s presence. And yet we often notice only the darkness. We can begin to change that perception by celebrating every glimpse of light we find, no matter how fleeting. One small epiphany at a time. One moment of insight leading to another. And soon the shadows won’t stand a chance.

God’s Light is shining all around us and within us. Let’s celebrate. Let’s arise and shine.