Sermons

"Love your neighbor as yourself." "Do unto others..." "The Parable of the Good Samaritan" "The healing of the blind man." Over and over again, by his words, by his actions, by his life, Jesus makes it powerfully clear that compassion is at the heart of what it means to live a faithful life. Following God is synonymous with actively caring for those around us. And most of us would be hard pressed to disagree - at least in principle. Of course we want to take care of each other. Of course we want to make sure that life is full and rich and meaningful for everyone.

What we don't always think about is the cost of such compassion. Sometimes the cost is obvious. Sometimes it is subtle. But there is almost always a price tag somewhere in the mix. I would argue that it is always a price worth paying. The results of compassion are more wholeness, more connection, more life. But if we don't talk about the cost, if we just pretend that there are no choices to be made, then when we find ourselves face to face with some of those choices we won't be prepared to choose wisely.
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You've 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.
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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 and express lanes on the freeway, 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. 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. In an interview on NPR's Fresh Air, Win Butler, one of the members of the Canadian art-rock band "Arcade Fire," talked about performing in large crowds and experiencing the odd modern phenomenon where people are so "plugged in" that they are on their cellphones talking to their friends about how cool it is to be at the concert, while they are in the middle of the concert. His perception was that in their hunger for instant connection, they are missing the actual experience of the moment - they are talking about life rather than experiencing life.
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Last week was Pentecost, the day on which the church celebrates the gift of God's Holy Spirit. When we allow God's Spirit to flow freely in us and through us, remarkable things can happen. What we discover is the reality that the healing power of God's love knows no limits. We begin to see the world in a whole new way, and we start to find our place in the world.
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