Musical Prelude and Service

Sermon – Acts 3:22-28
So, it has been a few weeks since I have stood in front of you. I have been taking the time this summer to rest, to reflect and to restore myself. There has certainly been some learning and much of that has been through conversations with several of you; learning a bit more abut the history of tis community.
I will have more to say on that in time.
But those reflections certainly do come into play as I consider this morning’s scripture reading from acts.
Paul is in Athens and according to the scripture is alarmed at just how many idols and shrines there are in this large and important city. The Athenians are very accommodating of everyone’s particular religious beliefs.
Which leads him to his speech.
Now there are a few ways we can approach this. We can see this as an attack on religious pluralism. That this is an argument that there is one true God. All others are a fallacy. That is, shall we say problematic. It leads to condemning countless people and demanding a uniformity that, frankly, I see as only harmful.
Or we can choose to read it and reflect on what this story might reflect back to us on the world we find ourselves living in now.
We live in a world, or shall we say a society, that has a vast array of cultural and religious expressions. It has a growing number of tensions of a political nature if we are honest with ourselves. If we take time to pause in the busyness of our lives, we may recognize a great many idols that receive a great deal of attention. Idols built to fame, to wealth. Idols dedicated to power and maintaining our sense of comfort and security, even if that status quo comes at the expense of the security and the dignity of others.
I don’t think I am saying anything original when I argue that we need to be challenged to ask ourselves regularly where we focus our attention – to ask ourselves what we truly desire from life and from our world; and what we are committed to working towards.
We also celebrate certain aspects of what God offers us. We focus on justice or liberty. Or we give our attention to life, nature, service. But we miss that they are all part of something so much larger.
I get it. It can become overwhelming to consider how immense God and God’s gifts are. But I wonder if that is what Paul is trying to impress upon his listeners in Athens. It all comes from God.
God set all of this in motion. And God does not require, God does not demand sacrifices and work. God is always there and will always be here.
But we desire – we yearn – to better connect with God. We may see that in different ways. We are seeking a stronger connection with our community. We luxuriate in moments of silence and content as we sit on a beach or on the lake or as we go for a hike or a simple walk around town visiting with friends and neighbours. We look for a greater meaning in our lives. We question what we can offer to the world, we have questions of why or how, or how come some things seem to happen or don’t happen.
We find ourselves struggling with loneliness or a lack of purpose. We catch ourselves asking questions of what next.
“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[b] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.”
For in him we live and move and have our being.
We reach out for God and God is never far away, if we choose to recognize God at work in our lives.
It’s no secret that Ellie and I had the opportunity to travel about England and Scotland in June. In doing so we visited a great number of Abbeys and Cathedrals. We also experienced other places which were incredibly spiritual.
While we did not get to see Stonehenge, we did get to see a place called Cava Cairns in northern Scotland. It too is a few thousand years old, it has standing stones, although not nearly as large as those in Stonehenge. It also has a series of cairns. Their exact purpose is lost in time, but it is a place built with a plan and of spiritual significance. The cairns are found amongst many large and ancient trees. It has a sense of memory and connection throughout it.
We saw cathedrals where construction began a millennia ago: like St. Magnus’s in the Orkneys, or Iona Abby where St. Columba established a monastery where he trained and educated monks to go forward and share the gospel with the people of Scotland and England. It remains a place of peace and wonder.
We saw the grandeur of St. Paul’s Cathedral and the history of Westminster Abbey and the beauty of Salisbury Cathedral. But we also saw small churches like this one in the Lake District where William Wordsworth is buried. We saw the beauty of a relatively new cathedral in Liverpool and the ancient Roman temple and gathering place at Bath.
In all these places what comes across at some point is a desire to connect to something larger than our individual selves. An attempt to find our place and to bring our community together in a project to find some order in what is far-too-often a chaotic world.
These buildings are magnificent; whether they are a few decades old or a few millennia old. In each case I don’t feel I had enough time to bask in their wonder. But the insight remains the same. I find it here, in Grace.
We are constantly reaching out and seeking a connection with one another and with God. God is right here. We are right here. I believe that is part of what Jesus was trying to tell us in so many lessons, in so many stories and miracles. God is right there in front of you. Open your eyes, take a step. Love the person you encounter, and you will find you are looking into the eyes of God. We are living in the midst of God. God is not the tree, nor the deer. God is neither the river nor the lake or the sunset. But God encompasses all of them. God is in the midst of our relationships with one another. So, we can feel a special connection to God while singing during worship here, or while taking in worship at Westminster Abbey or admiring the architecture of St. Paul’s Cathedral or the cloisters in Salisbury or Iona. Or even standing by the riverside staring in wonder at a sunset.
But here is another question for you. How do you grow that understanding?
How do you nurture that relationship? How do you grow your understanding of who you are in God’s world? Through conversation? Through study and prayer? Through working alongside your friends and neighbours in this community of faith?
I cherish time in quiet contemplation. I recognize and valued importance of time alone. But I also know that it is only through study, through the give and take of challenging questions; of hearing the stories of my neighbours, of being part of a community that loves me, supports me and works with me that I am moved to keep working to being the person God sees me becoming.
That is the importance of community. That is the sacredness; the holiness that I find in a community of faith; that moves me to say, thanks be to God. Amen

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789