Worship
Sermon Teachings
Isaiah 55:10-13 -- God said, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
For you shall go out in joy, and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial; for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Matthew 22:34-40 -- When the Teachers of the law heard that Jesus had silenced other members of the religious leadership, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the Law is the greatest?” Jesus responded, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
“It seems as though the cadence of many of our lives is one that is quick and without hesitation… Perhaps if we slowed the clock a little bit and we rediscovered equilibrium, we would be a little more in tune with ourselves, others around us, and the words of God/Goddess. Perhaps we could take a moment to listen. And I mean REALLY listen. What is possible when one is really listening? Everything. How can we remain fluid in the teachings and what we know to be true in each moment? How does one slow to be a witness and an active participant in the most simple and illuminated ways of growth? How may I stay true to my intention and self?” Whitney Miller has been active in Westminster from childhood. She is in her junior year at the University of San Francisco majoring in environmental studies and psychology
The inquisitive monk asked, “All these mountains and rivers and earth and stars – where do they come from?”
The master responded, “Where does your question come from?” A conclusion, search within.
The seeker came to a master and said, “For years I have been searching for God everywhere that God is said to be: on mountain peaks, in the vastness of the desert, the silence of the cloister, and the dwellings of the poor.”
“Have you found God?” the master asked.
“No. I have not. Have you?”
What could the master say? The evening sun was sending shafts of golden light into the room. Hundreds of sparrows were twittering on a nearby banyan tree. In the distance one could hear the sound of highway traffic…people in the marketplace…. And yet this man could sit there and say he had not found God. The seeker left, disappointed, to search elsewhere. A conclusion, don't just do something, stand there, look around and listen.
An elephant was enjoying a leisurely dip in a jungle pool when a rat came up to the water's edge and insisted that the elephant get out. “I won't,” said the elephant. “You must, this minute!” said the rat.
“Why?”
“I shall tell you only after you get out of the pool.”
“Then I won't get out.”
But the elephant finally lumbered out of the pool, stood in front of the rat, and said, “Now then, why did you want me to get out of the pool?”
“To check if you were wearing my swimming trunks,” said the rat.
A conclusion, an elephant will sooner fit into the trunks of a rat than God will fit into our notions of the Divine.
The summer teaching series is built on six questions uniquely important to each of six church members – a central personal theme that in turn invites us to explore the place of faith in this rational, scientific, technological, and iconoclastic time in which we live. The foundation of the series is the hope that we are each actively cultivating faith and ways of being in the world that are transparently Christian and authentically our own.
Whitney Miller has been part of this congregation from childhood and presently is a junior at the University of San Francisco with a dual major in environmental studies and psychology. Her questions are existential and have a universal quality about them, weaving through self-knowledge, psychology, environment, mysticism, and the transformative power of life experiences. I use the word ‘mysticism' to distinguish between deeper, wider spiritual practices and institutional religion. Also, we can forget absolute, one-answer-fits-all responses to such questions as these because these themes flourish on personal growth, mindfulness, an open and seeking soul, the willingness to stand still, listen, search within, and avoid trying to put a rat's swim suit on any manner of elephant!
A reflection: When we probe life, meaning, and spirit, the only trustworthy response to these questions lie within us and the evolving nature of our quest. We are like the seeker who came to a tall tower and stepped inside to find it all dark. As she groped around, she came to a circular staircase. Curious to know where it led, she began to climb and as she climbed there was a growing sense of uneasiness in her body. She looked behind her and was horrified to see that each time she climbed a step the previous one fell off and disappeared. Before her the stairs wound upward and she had no idea where they led; behind her yawned an enormous black emptiness. A conclusion: seekers have trust and are curious, courageous, and rare!
Whitney wrote of the haste and fragile equilibrium of modern life, asking “How does one slow down to be a witness and an active participant in the most simple and illuminated ways of growth?” That is the issue between the master and that seeker who sought God in all the familiar places but missed the golden sunrays, the singing birds in the banyan tree, and people in the market because he did not have a practice that helped him stop, listen, and look.
A reflection: these sorts of questions get to the very heart of a person's intimate identity and their way of being in the world. Preaching at the Yale University chapel, Krista Trippett, the host of NPR's very popular program, “Speaking of Faith,” offered this insight about the quest, faith, and community, “We give ourselves over to essential, exacting, majestic questions that no other discipline quite presses in quite the same way: what does it mean to be human? What matters in a life? What matters in death? How to love? How can we be of service to one another and the world?” The work of the church is to release the steely grip of dogma and doctrine, and encourage and support the curiosity, experience, intuition, and search that get beyond unexamined rules and beliefs, beyond habituated religion that has others think and believe for us.
A reflection: how do we slow down, witness, grow and stay true to our intention and Self? As the master's response to the inquisitive monk who wanted to know the origin of mountains and rivers, earth and stars, the answer is within. So we look to engage in spiritual practices that:
•Nurture Self-awareness,
•Welcome and trust the inner voice of intuition,
•Engage in a constructive, inquisitive dialogue with the universe,
•Embrace all manner of life experiences and their potential for transformation and growth,
•Counsel us to live more in the moment than the past or in all-out preparation for the future,
•Support fluidity rather than status quo, freedom rather than fear,
•Keep us on task with our intentions and the work of living in True Self,
•Place us in beloved community, and with teachers, friends, and family who support the intention and the work and, perhaps in summary of all the others,
•That keep us centered and empathic, curious and creative, confident and courageous, calm and clear, and fundamentally grateful and compassionate.
A reflection: we are talking here about a full and abundant life in union with Christ, Christ consciousness, and a Christ-style way of life that enables us to be at peace and one with the universe.
One disciplined and rewarding way to realize the desire of full and abundant living is to enter into a daily practice of mindful meditation, prayer, and acts of loving kindness that over time become your consistent lifestyle. It can begin with and unfold from the simple daily practice of 5 - 5 - & -5: 5 minutes of silence, then 5 minutes of inspirational reading or listening, and then 5 minutes of writing notes and reflections. This kind of practice will consistently awaken you to awe and wonder, adventure and amazement, openness and curiosity. Such practices and this way of life are not lukewarm, half-hearted, and holding back – they make up a unique and passionate way of being with life, one not to be missed for its capacity to hold its joys and trials, its unknown and uncontrollable directions, and all of its surprises and lessons.
An observation: an old Hasidic tale asserts that God created human beings because God loves stories. Speaking recently at Dominican University, Coleman Barks, the pre-eminent translator of the Sufi master, Rumi, offered a sweet suggestion. Imagine, someday you are sitting with God watching re-runs of your life; don't you think you should make some scenes that God will enjoy, and I would add, that will make God laugh or catch a sudden, deep breath or shout “Yes!” or proclaim with astonishment, “Oh my Me!”
An observation, if you want a full taste of God's closeness let Love be your spirituality and the Creation your Bible! Stop! Really Look, Listen, Taste, Smell, Touch, and Know so that the stars will tremble with ecstasy as you go into the world with faith and kindness, and Joy leads you forth in Peace while the mountains and hills break out in singing and all the trees of the field clap their hands ----- just for you!
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