Sermons

June 6, 2021

The last time I preached at Seekers was in September of 2019. Since then I have avoided it with a variety of excuses, the most recent of which is my frustration with our Zoom services, mainly that I can’t actually see any of you but rather must settle for a collection of pixels which have been electronically manipulated to approximate your appearance. And for some of you, it’s not even that but just your name or a photo. For me an important part of preaching is seeing you, being able to make eye contact and notice body language. Pixels, however accurate they may be, are no substitute for living, breathing bodies.

I have recently concluded, however, that this objection, despite its basic truth, is not of sufficient weight to justify not preaching. I believe that I am at least minimally competent as a preacher and sometimes a bit better than that. To not share that gift at least once or twice a year with my dear Seekers community is simply selfish, the constraints of Zoom notwithstanding. I came to this conclusion around the middle of April and proceeded to sign up for the next open preaching date which at the time was June 6, today. I did this without looking at the lectionary for today and without knowing the liturgical theme for this Season of Trinity because Celebration Circle had not yet found one. This might seem like a rash way of choosing a date to preach: what if I simply could not relate to the Biblical passages in the lectionary or did not respond to the liturgical theme? I did not consider these questions because I felt that if I was truly called to preach, then I could do so, details notwithstanding.

May 30, 2021

I support the emerged language of Seekers that we are part of the Resurrected Body of Christ. It is a bold claim and it separates Seekers from the problems of the  Nicene Creed tradition as promoted by Catholics or by Protestants in the tradition of Luther or Calvin.

I understand the emerged theology of Seekers as an example of progressive trinitarian theology that has reshaped the meanings of the traditional phrases Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Naming ourselves as the Resurrected Body of Christ replaces the concept and imagery of the Son of God up in Heaven where he returned after he died on Earth.

We are parts of the Resurrected Body of Christ here and now. We are a current expression and shared embodiment of the ever changing relationships of communities of Christians who, from generation to generation, have oriented their lives to shared memories of the inspiration and guidance of Jesus. We are embodied memories of the inspiration and guidance of Jesus.

May 23, 2021

I’m going to tell you a story I told once before, once before, quite a few years ago, when I preached on Pentecost.  When I was in college, I had a Pentecost-like experience. I was at a party.  It was late at night and I had not slept at all the night before.  I had been up all night writing a paper and I had that combination of jitters and exhaustion you get when you’ve stayed up all night with the help of amphetamines.  I’d also had drunk a lot of beer at the party so I was a little drunk, perhaps even on the edge of being hallucinatory because of the combination of beer and residual speed.  I was lying on the floor with my bookbag under my head, half awake and half asleep.  Some friends of mine were playing guitars and banjos and singing.  They sang the song “Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream,” the song we just heard. As I listened to the song, I was in such an alternative reality that it felt as if the words were true, as if all of the world’s leaders really had gotten together in a big room and put an end to war.  I was celebrating with the people in the streets below, dancing round and round.  I can’t tell you how much joy I felt.  It only lasted a moment, though, and then I realized that it was just a song—it hadn’t really happened.  I was crushed—what a disappointment!  But I’d had that taste of heaven.  I had experienced the end of war.  And I have never forgotten how that felt.

May 16, 2021

LARRY: Good morning everyone. A couple of years ago, we were fortunate to have an amazing little fellow join our congregation for a while named DS – his nickname I believe is Parsley – and DS is here with us today. DS is going to be ringing the chime for me as I have some other children assist me today. So can we put DS on the screen and have him ring the chime for the first time? Good boy.

May 9, 2021

During the Easter season this year Celebration Circle has invited us to focus on witnesses, asking us what it means to be witnesses to the Resurrection in these chaotic times. This question got me pondering not only what we are witnessing, but what difference how we witness makes.   

The lectionary readings for this week led me to reflect on the Resurrection as an expression of God’s love for this Creation, how we recognize the love of God, how we witness to it, and how we can contribute to its health and growth. Three questions came to mind for me:

• How does the resurrection of Jesus as the Christ reveal the presence of divine love? (He lay down his life as a model of reaching for inclusive harmony.)  

• How can we testify effectively as we share with others what we’re experiencing? (We can look for moments of resonance and help tune ourselves and others to nurture divine harmony.)

• How might we help open a path to deeper harmony, modeling our commitment to being creative, inclusive as we work for peace and justice? (We can help create memorable tunes in the key of compassion, tunes that stick in the brains of others who hear them.)