Sermon August 11, 2013
Readings: Genesis 15:1-6, Hebrews 11:1-16, Luke 12:32-40
Listen to the sermon
Starry, Starry, Darkness: sermon for Pentecost 12C
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Tag Archives: evolutionary christianity
I’m a Doubter Not a Believer – Preparing to Preach on FAITH
Preaching on Luke 12:32-40 and Hebrews 11:1-16
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Abba’s good pleasure to give you the kin-dom” So begins the gospel reading for this coming Sunday. But I am afraid and my fear is not about the the thief who this text insists may break into my house or that the Human One is coming at some unexpected hour. No my fear is wrapped up in my desire to pay little or no attention to the second reading prescribed for this Sunday from the letter to the Hebrews:
“Faith is the reality of all that is hoped for; faith is the proof of all that is unseen. Because of faith, our ancestors were approved b God. By faith, we understand the world was created by the word from God, and that what is visible came into being through the invisible…..”
Do I have faith? Do any of us have faith? For that matter: What is faith? According to Hebrews faith “is the reality of all that is hoped for; faith is the proof of all that is unseen.” Faith is the stuff that makes it possible for us to hear Jesus words: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Abba’s good pleasure to give you the kin-dom.” Faith is the stuff that makes it possible for us to believe. So I wonder: Do I have faith? Do I have the faith that makes it possible for me to believe? Do you? Do any of us?
I write this as one who finds it difficult and sometimes even impossible to believe much of anything. I am a doubter by nature. Doubting is part of who I am. I know that there are those who are more inclined to believe and I am envious of believers. I envy those who are sure and are able to find comfort in the Scriptures. For a very long time I was ashamed of my inability to believe. I often sat in church and wondered if I might just be a hypocrite. I wondered if someone who had as many doubts as I have belongs in the church. And so, I tried to conquer my doubts by studying the Scriptures. Continue reading
The Meaning of Death: Stephen Jenkinson
Those of us who have the privilege of working with people at the end of life are acutely aware of the tremendous amount of anxiety that surrounds the end of life. So much energy is spent in denial of death and all too often we miss the opportunity to live into our death. Stephen Jenkinson is the stuff of legend. Over the years, I have heard his name sometimes shouted with enthusiasm and often whispered tentatively as tough this guru of death processes the talisman capable of provided a way through to the end which invites serinity in the midst of anxiety. Over the years, his books have enlightened my own anxious mind and given me the courage to enter into some fearsome journeys.
Formerly a director of children’s grief and palliative care at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital, and assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s School of Family and Community Medicine, Jenkinson now spends his time teaching, writing, and leading workshops.
Jenkinson writes: “How we care for the dying people in our midst, and how we die when it is our turn: these together are the proving ground, the cradle and the grave both, for every conviction we have about justice and mercy, about the meaning of life, about what love should look like and what it should do. They are the sum of every political instinct we have, every dream of community we’ve nursed along and every faith we’ve been willing to have in a better day. They are where every fascination about the Other World and the Big Story live, and they are where the midnight fear of Nothing comes to call. They are where our immense technical medical wizardry and mastery is visited upon you and those you love, and where the mythic poverty of our time comes to show itself. They are surely where our love of life earns its keep, or shatters. Mostly, though, they are the place where our ability to be a people is forged, or fails. They are where our village is made or broken. They are where we are most ourselves, and most alone. Together they are The Big Tent of our time.”
The Meaning of Death is a short (6min) video that offers a taste of Jenkinson’s approach. But to learn more of Jenkinson’s remarkable way of being, be sure to follow the link below to the NFB film: Griefwalker. It is well worth watching (70min)!!!!
Griefwalker is a National Film Board of Canada feature documentary film that runs about 70min. Filmed over a 12 year period, it shows Jenkinson in teaching sessions with doctors and nurses, in counselling sessions with dying people ad their families, and in meditative and often frank exchanges. You can view the entire film by clicking on the link below.
At the Heart of Happiness Lies Compassion for Others: Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong, a provocative original thinker whose many books on religion have educated a generation of modern seekers. Armstrong has a unique perspective. She’s a former nun who moved on to academia to study comparative religion and has become an advocate for the Golden Rule. Her books on Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and the History of God are a wealth of information and have become must reads for those who study or practice religion. He autobiographical works are well worth reading: The Spiral Staircase is particularly compelling!
Reordered at Conway Hall by Action For Happiness on April 18, 2013
PAINTING the STARS: Science, Religion and an Evolving Faith
LIVING THE QUESTIONS: PAINTING the STARS:
SCIENCE, RELIGION AND AN EVOLVING FAITH
Begins at Holy Cross in Newmarket on Sunday September 29 at 9:30am
“Why Christianity as We know It is Dying” Bishop John Shelby Spong
Here’s Jack’s first lecture from the “Future of the Progressive Church” conference held on August 3, 2013 at the Community Christian Church in Springfield, MO. (the sound has now been corrected, thanks to Dr. Roger Ray and the good folks of his congregation for sharing this amazing conference!). You can watch Jack’s second lecture here. As always, Jack’s charming wit coupled with his keen insight is able to move us to places we might never have dreamed of going!!! Well worth watching!!!
Bishop John Shelby Spong interviewed on the day DOMA was consigned to the history books
“You don’t resist consciousness, nor do you turn it around. Nobody would contemplate re-segregating; no one would contemplate taking the vote away from women. Nobody will contemplate forcing gay and lesbian people to go back into the closet today – we just passed that, and consciousness doesn’t go in a two-way street; it’s always a one-way direction. You’re always more open to the future.” – Bishop John Shelby Spong
I first met Jack Spong in 2008 when he travelled to what he called “the frozen north” to help us launch our Re-Thinking Christianity Speaker Series at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Newmarket. At that time, from the confines of my church imposed closet, I and many others were working together to end the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada’s discrimination against LGBT members. The terms of my closeted existence meant that I could not speak publicly about who I am lest my denomination take actions against me because of who I love. So, Jack and I spoke privately about the struggle that my life had become. His gentle encouragement “to be all that I am created to be” together with the love and support of so many others gave me the courage to come out into the struggle in more public ways as Holy Cross defied the discriminatory policies of our denomination.
Jack has returned to Holy Cross several times over the years and each time his love and support has been a blessing to our congregation and to so many people in our part of the world. A great deal of water has flowed under a good many bridges since our first meeting. Over the years, our community has continued to be blessed by Jack’s visits and his considerable support. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada has removed constitutional barriers to the full inclusion of LGBT members and we continue the work of living into our vision of equality for all. Even though I have married the love of my life, I continue to serve as the pastor of what Jack has dubbed “the jewel of the north” and surprise, surprise, the sky has not fallen in. My wife Carol and I are both grateful to Jack and his lovely wife Christine for their ongoing love and encouragement!
The interview below took place on June 26th, 2013, the day the U.S. Supreme Court announced its monumental decisions on the Defence of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8. As I watched it, I was reminded that the struggle for the rights of LGBT folk is only one of many human-rights struggles that Jack has engaged in during his long and distinguished career. Jack is a giant among men; and not just because of his great height or his former office, but because he lives the benediction he teaches: “If God is the source of life, I worship God by living. If God is the source of love, I worship God by loving. If God is the Ground of Being, I worship God by being more fully human; the embodiment of the Divine.” Thank-you Jack for all you’ve done to help so many of us to embrace our humanity and thereby embody our Divinity!!!
What a New Christianity for a New World will Contain: John Shelby Spong
This past weekend, The Emerging Church of Springfield, MO. hosted a conference on the Future of Progressive Christianity at which Bishop John Shelby Spong spoke, as only Jack can, on the history of Christianity’s “wrongful diagnosis of what it means to be human” and pointed to a new vision for Christianity’s future. Many thanks to Dr. Roger Ray and the good people of the Community Christian Church for organizing and sharing this conference!!!
Doubt: Preparing to Preach on Hebrews 11:1-16
Looking over the readings for this coming Sunday and the subject of faith jumps out from the Hebrews reading (Hebrews 11:1-16) which begs questions about doubt. I recently read and blogged about Richard Holloway’s “Faith and Doubt” and Lesley Hazleton’s insistence that “Doubt is Essential to Faith” and both posts provide an interesting jumping off point. This little video of Richard Holloway on “Why doubt is a good thing” drives my thoughts toward preaching on doubt as the foundation of faith???
Hosea: the Coronation Street of Ancient Israel
A Sermon on the Book of the Prophet Hosea
I am indebted to Bishop John Shelby Spong for his insights into the Book of the Prophet Hosea. Without Jack’s thoughtful portrayal of Gomer, I would not have recognized her as the Leanne Battersby of her time. Also, thanks to Marcus Borg for his definition of the verb “believe”!
Listen to the sermon:
For those unfamiliar with Corrie, here’s a sample of the first 50 years:
Finding God in the Depths of Silence: Richard Rohr
Speaking in May of 2013 at the Festival of Faiths, Richard Rohr shares his perspective on silences as the only thing broad and deep enough ot hold all of the contradictions and paradoxes of Full Reality and our own reality, too. 99.9% of the known universe is silent,, and it is in this space that the force fields of life and compassion dwell and expand. Rohr insists that we too can live in this silent expanse!
Richard Rohr is a Franciscan teacher, author and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation.
Questions that Arise from Being Human – Richard Holloway
Regular visitors to this blog will not be surprised to read that Richard Holloway has become one of my favourite theologians. I have blogged about his writings several times. In this video Holloway moves beyond spiritual autobiography and into the realm of evolutionary theology to explore the big questions about what it means to be human.
Transfeminist Entaglements: Catherine Keller
Today the church celebrates the feast day of Martha and Mary. Two disciples whom Jesus loved, who went on to become Apostles. On this day, I am mindful of the plight of women in the church. I present this lecture by Catherine Keller, a brilliant theologian, as my way of celebrating the role of women in theology. Keller’s work in process theology has enlightened my own theology in ways that continue to challenge my own way of approaching Mystery and I highly recommend “On the Mystery: Discerning Divinity in Process.
On the Drew Theological School’s website Catherine Keller is described as: “Professor of Constructive Theology at the Theological School of Drew University. In her teaching, lecturing and writing, she develops the relational potential of a theology of becoming. Her books reconfigure ancient symbols of divinity for the sake of a planetary conviviality—a life together, across vast webs of difference. Thriving in the interplay of ecological and gender politics, of process cosmology, poststructuralist philosophy and religious pluralism, her work is both deconstructive and constructive in strategy. She is currently finishing Cloud of the Impossible: Theological Entanglements, which explores the relation of mystical unknowing, material indeterminacy and ontological interdependence.”
Prayer: Connections – a sermon for Luke 11:1-13
Prayer: the Perspective of a Process Theologian – Catherine Keller
Today, preachers all over the world (myself included) will be tackling what the writer of the gospel of Luke had to say about prayer in Luke 11:1-13. It is a daunting task for any preacher, let alone for those of us who have given up images of the Divine that conjure up notions of a super-hero in the sky who interferes in our lives. Catherine Keller is a process theologian who teaches Constructive Theology at Drew University (New Jersey). Her comments about prayer as a kind of allurement are enlightening.
Preparing to Preach on Prayer: 21st Century Questions – There’s an App for that!
As I continue to work on this Sunday’s sermon, (see earlier posts here … here …and here), Jesus’ teaching on prayer in the gospel reading Luke 11:1-13 leaves me wondering what an enlightened 21st humanoid is supposed to do with Jesus 1st century ideas???
Cast you minds back to another time and place and tell what the numbers 33, 45, and 78 have in common??? Vinyl Records anyone? When I was a kid music came from a portable RCA record player. The sound quality wasn’t all that great, but somehow we didn’t seem to care. Later when I was a teenager, my parents got a fancy state of the art Phillips stereo cabinet and suddenly sound seemed to be coming from booth ends of the room. I never did understand how those old record players managed to pick up sound from the grooves in the vinyl to
produce music. I still remember my father’s first reel-to-reel tape recorder, and then there were the eight-tracks, followed by cassettes, followed by CD’s. I can remember these things, but I have no idea how they made music. It doesn’t matter how many times people try to explain it to me, I still think it’s a miracle that such beautiful sounds can come out of machines.
These days I don’t use records, tapes or CDs to listen to music. My music is stored in “the cloud” and when I want to hear I song I make sweeping motions on my iphone screen and presto, I can make music fill the room. I don’t know what the cloud is. I asked the personal assistant on my iPhone, her name is Siri and she told me she was sorry but she couldn’t tell me because Steve told her not to tell anyone. Some people think the cloud is located in a 225-acre facility that Apple built in North Carolina. Continue reading
Preparing to Preach on Prayer: To Whom Shall We Go?
As I continue to work on this Sunday’s sermon, (see earlier posts here and here) Jesus’ teaching on prayer in the gospel text Luke 11:1-13 begs the question: “To Whom Shall We Go?” Liberated from perceptions that reduce images of God to those of a cosmic superhero who abides up or out there ready to manipulate events here in the world at the request of those who pray, the activity of prayer takes on a whole new meaning and shape. Our images of who, where and what God is will direct our prayers in ways that impact our expectations of prayer. Who do we pray to and what we expect of the One who hears our prayers will shape how and why we pray.
Before we can even begin to understand what so much of the Christian tradition means when it talks about praying to God, we need to take a step back and look at what we mean when we say the word “god.” Throughout the Jewish and Christian traditions you can trace two very distinct ways of understanding and talking about God. Continue reading
Morning Prayer Liturgy: John Philip Newell
Morning Prayer Liturgy from Casa del Sol, Ghost Ranch. Led by John Philip Newell, Ali Newell, David E. Poole, Winona Poole. Chants from “Chanting For Peace, Praying with the Earth”
Preparing to Preach on Prayer: Shush!
In this coming Sunday’s gospel reading Luke 11:1-13, Jesus’ disciples ask him to teach them to pray. As a pastor I have been asked to teach people to pray. Each time I have been asked to teach someone to pray I have cringed inside because I do not feel up to the task. For some reason the old hymn “I Come to the Garden Alone” keeps playing in my mind. I keep telling it to, “Shush!” so that I might hear the “bath qol” but the daughter of a sound eludes me. Below is a portion of a sermon I preached a couple of years ago on the subject of prayer. If nothing else, it reminds me to shush!
I began this sermon by asking the congregation to sing from memory the old hymn: I Come to the Garden Along. Feel free to sing it to yourself!
I think my earliest memory of prayer is a distant memory I have of skipping along the sidewalk chanting a familiar refrain: “Don’t step on a crack or you’ll break your mother’s back.” Most of us can remember a moment from our childhood when a superstition was instilled in us that caused us to perform some ritual in order to placate the unseen power that could determine our fate. Whether it was avoiding cracks, or walking under ladders or black cats, we were trained from an early age to believe that there were powers out there that could determine our future. Continue reading
Love is the Only Antidote to Fear – John O’Donohue
When I was a child my father used to sing a song that puzzled me:
“It takes a worried man to sing a worried song. It takes a worried man to wing a worried song. It takes a worried man to sing a worried song. I’m worried now, but I won’t be worried long.” listen here
I can still remember my young self wondering why this worried man won’t be worried for long. Now that my age often lets me know that there are fewer years ahead of me than there are behind me, I know full well that it is death that will end this worried man’s worries. I also know that it is the knowledge of our impending death that gives birth to our fear. Speaking at the Greenbelt Festival in 2004, John O’Donohue explores with wit, charm and wisdom the reality that we are all going to die and points to love as the powerful antidote to the fear that this realty inspires. O’Donohue insists that we all must sort out our fear of death in order to live fully!
Click on the image below to listen to John O’Donohue
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