Sermons

Where do we find God? How do we "see" God? In John's Gospel the lines begin to blur and the distinctions fall away. Who God is blends into who Jesus is, Jesus blends into who the Holy Spirit is, and ultimately the whole sacred package blends into who we are. In our reading for this morning we find Jesus saying, "I am in God, and you in me, and I in you." (John 14:20) How do we "see" God? Just look around! God is everywhere, if we have eyes to see.
» read more

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to God except through me." (John 14:6) At first glance this seems both clear and powerful - a path to God. And then upon closer examination questions begin to surface - concerns start to cloud the matter. What does it mean to say that "no one comes to God except through me"? This particular passage in John's Gospel has been weighed down with centuries of interpretive baggage which seems to make "I believe in Jesus" the only acceptable password that will get us past the front gates of heaven. But I'm convinced that it does not have to mean this at all. To begin with, it's important to remember that all of the Gospels, and particularly John, are really theological rather than biographical in nature. This means that John is using the story of Jesus to present an understanding of who God is and what it means to be in relationship with God. Thus "I am the way..." is about the path to God which is represented by the whole of Jesus' life and teaching. It's about loving enemies, washing feet, accepting the outcasts, and all the other qualities we see revealed in the picture of Jesus which John paints for us. That is how we come to know God, John is telling us. And what happens when we come to know God in this way is that we begin to take on those qualities in our own living. "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do..." (John 14:12) Even the part about asking for things "in my name" isn't about using the name "Jesus" as a kind of magical incantation that will insure our prayers get answered. In the ancient world names were understood to represent the essence of something - the true character of that which is named. So to pray "in Jesus' name" is to pray with the same character, the same quality of living, which we find revealed in Jesus. In short, we are called to follow the path of faith to which Jesus points us with the whole of his life. It is no accident that from the earliest days of the Church the community of those who are seeking to follow this new way of life are referred to as "the body of Christ." We are literally called to be Christ in the world.
» read more

Seeking a life filled with God! I believe that in one way or another, whether we recognize it or not, we are all searching for such a life. When we are in touch with the reality of God's presence in our world and in our lives there is a sense of wholeness, because we are living in the fullness of what is most real. When we are not in touch with this reality there is a sense of longing, or emptiness, because our present awareness is out of sync with the deeper, fuller, richer truth which resonates with the core of who we are. And so we come to church - we pray - we read spiritual reflections - we meditate - we engage in a variety of spiritual practices - we go on sacred pilgrimages. Or we don't. And I am convinced that the shape of our experience in this life reflects the path we choose. Please do not hear me saying that bad things will happen if you don't pray, or that life will be nothing but sweetness and light if you go to church. I'm not talking about what happens to us in this life. I'm talking about how we experience what happens to us, and what we do with that experience.
» read more

Upon hearing the news about my resignation, the most common first question has been "Why?" And the short answer is, "because I have a sense of being called to move on." The not-so-short answer is far more complex and nuanced, ambiguous and hard to explain. If this were a Methodist congregation and I were a Methodist pastor, the answer might be relatively straightforward - because the Bishop told me it was time to move. But we are not a part of that system and so answering the "why" question is more challenging. I would like to try answering at least some of that question by sharing with you some of the process which led us to this point, and some of what making this choice means to us. I want to share this in the hope that in our experience you might see something of your own experiences of seeking to make faithful choices for your living.
» read more