Sunday Summary: Finding the Sacred in the Secular - Part 1

Sunday's music was particularly enjoyable for Bob Dylan fans, as the guys started worship with "Knockin' on Heaven's Door."

Cody's message this week was about finding the sacred in our everyday, secular lives. He asked this thought-provoking question:

Have you ever had a moment of sheer wonder and awe?
A spiritual revelation...
A profound and deeply moving sense of clarity...
A realization that the world is bigger than you ever imagined...
A mystical experience of comfort or inspiration...
A flash of overwhelming emotion in the face of something supernatural...  

Maybe it's a moment of solitude in nature, watching a sunset, holding your newborn baby for the first time, attending a U2 concert, watching a campfire burn late into the night... Everything in life can be sacred; it’s really a matter of perspective.

Sometimes it's about finding the holy in the midst of the mundane, ordinary life. These experiences aren't always overtly religious, but a facet of our everyday lives that isn't always seen. Earth is full of the weight of God's significance and, everyday, we are drenched in God's presence, even when we're not specifically looking for it.

Even people who don't know God can live the way God intended... it's hardwired into us. Some researchers speculate that we are born with a deep need to be transformed by God. According to the "God gene hypothesis," we have a physiological arrangement that produces the sensations associated, by some, with mystic experiences, including the presence of God or others, or more specifically spirituality as a state of mind.

Our scripture was from Acts 17:22-29 (The Message). The apostle, Paul, stood in the open space at the high court in Athens and laid it out for them:

“It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, to the god nobody knows. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with."

And then he explained, “The God who made the world and everything in it, this master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ 

It can be argued that sacred and secular are one in the same. Everything in and of our lives is from God, and it speaks to us sometimes when we least expect it. Stand in awe of God, and claim the majesty of this world as that of the creator. If it is beautiful and indescribable, claim it as God's. Claim the holy. With awe, comes appreciation.

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”

― W.B. Yeats

With that, here is some "awe" for you....

Written by Kay Weiss, guest blogger

The Gathering's Beer & Hymns on Minnesota Public Radio

Great press for The Gathering! Minnesota Pubic Radio's Dan Gunderson joined us January 9th at Usher's House for the third installment of Beer and Hymns. Today, the story aired in rotation on "All Things Considered." Ann Arbor Miller, an independent photographer and visual storyteller was also there to document the event.

Here's a link to the story: 'Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,' with beer and hymns at The Gathering (& you can listen now too: AUDIO).

"Beer and Hymns" offers participants an evening of conversation, beverage and song in the lower level of Usher's House, a Moorhead restaurant and bar, on Jan. 9, 2014. The monthly event is organized by The Gathering, a Fargo-Moorhead area church that bills itself as "doing church differently." (Ann Arbor Miller / For MPR News)

Greg Ewing-Lee, right, considers his beverage options at Usher's House in Moorhead on Jan. 9, 2014. Ewing-Lee, 31, of Fargo joined upward of two dozen adults for the third "Beer and Hymns," a gathering that features singing and socializing. Ewing-Lee is a member of The Gathering, which sponsors the monthly event. (Ann Arbor Miller / For MPR News)

Hymnals in hand, Cathy Prichard of Fargo, left, and Kay Weiss of Fargo sing during the third "Beer and Hymns" event at Usher's House in Moorhead on Jan. 9, 2013. The monthly gathering is hosted at different locations each month and is organized by a Fargo-Moorhead church called The Gathering. (Ann Arbor Miller / For MPR News)

Ten-year-old Arthur Kaese of Fargo appears less then enthusiastic about an evening outing with his parents for "Beer and Hymns" at Usher's House in Moorhead on Jan. 9, 2014. The monthly events, which are organized by a Fargo-Moorhead church called The Gathering, are free and open to the public. Consuming beer -- or any alcohol for that matter -- is optional. (Ann Arbor Miller / For MPR News)

Pastor Cody Schuler, left, and Greg Ewing-Lee, right, sing a hymn during a "Beer and Hymns" event at Usher's House in Moorhead on Jan. 9, 2014. The monthly event is organized by The Gathering, a young Fargo-Moorhead church that is affiliated with First United Methodist Church in Fargo. Schuler and others are looking for ways to connect with young adults and help them connect with their faith. (Ann Arbor Miller / For MPR News)

Fargo resident Anne Gassmann sings a hymn during "Beer and Hymns" at Usher's House in Moorhead on Jan. 9, 2014. Gassmann has attended Sunday services of The Gathering, a Fargo-Moorhead church which organizes "Beer and Hymns" at different locations each month. She said she finds the church's philosophy appealing. (Ann Arbor Miller / For MPR News)

Fargo resident Lyndell Dahl chats with new acquaintances during a "Beer and Hymns" event at Usher's House in Moorhead on Jan. 9, 214. Lyndell and her husband, Ramsey, attended the evening gathering at the invitation of friends. "It's interesting," said Ramsey. "The people are really nice. We'll definitely come again." (Ann Arbor Miller / For MPR News)

Empty pint glasses are stacked and collected by a server after the third "Beer and Hymns" event at Usher's House in Moorhead on Jan. 9, 2014. The event, which moves to different locations each month, is organized by a young Fargo-Moorhead church called The Gathering. (Ann Arbor Miller / For MPR News)

Sunday Summary: The Christmas Conspiracy

Advent is the season of anticipation. It is a time of preparing for the celebration of Jesus' birth. A time to think about what it means to be made new and live in peace, love, joy and hope.

Unfortunately, most of us are probably ready for Christmas to be over before it even gets here. Often times, the weeks leading up to the holiday are busy and stressful. A few people I know insist on taking their tree down on December 26th. But, the Christmas season is actually 12 days long (despite what retailers would have you think, what with putting up Christmas tree and holiday displays in late September). Christmas begins on December 25th and ends with the Epiphany on January 6th.

Cody encouraged us to take some time to decompress and relax... which is not always an easy thing to do with the return to the workweek, and New Year's celebrations and parties just around the corner. Many of us have been traveling and have lots to catch up on when we return home. But take some time to quietly remember the joyful moments of the season.

Our scripture is week was from Matthew 2:13-23 (The Voice). We're skipping ahead in the story, to after the wise men have left. This is traditionally done in the lectionary calendar. Why do they do that? Maybe it's because the Sunday between Christmas and New Years is typically the one with lowest attendance and it's an easy way to skim over a bloody, awful story. After all, there's no easy time to hear the story of the "Slaughter of the Innocents." But, it is an important part of the story, so here it goes:

After the wise men left, a messenger appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up, take the child and his mother, and head to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you it is safe to leave. Herod understands that Jesus threatens him and all he stands for. He is planning to search for the child and kill him. But you will be safe in Egypt." So, Joseph got up in the middle of the night and left with his family.

Léon Cogniet, Massacre of the Innocents, circa 1824

After a few months, Herod realized he’d been tricked. He was furious and ordered that all boys who lived in Bethlehem, under the age of two, would be killed. He knew ordinary babies would die in this purge, but didn't care — He was willing to do whatever was necessary to kill this new "supposed King." But, Herod’s plan ultimately failed. He didn't know Jesus had been taken to safety in Egypt. This event had long been foretold by the prophet Jeremiah.

After Herod's death, a messenger appeared again in a dream to Joseph. "You may go home now. Take the child and his mother and go back to the land of Israel, for the people who were trying to take the child’s life are now dead."


So, Joseph got up and took Mary and Jesus and returned to Israel. Soon, he learned that Herod’s oldest and notoriously brutal son was ruling Judea and Joseph was afraid. He had yet another dream, and in this dream, he was warned to stay away from Judea. Joseph decided to settle in the district of Galilee, in the town of Nazareth. And this, too, fulfilled a prophecy: “The Savior will be a Nazarene.”

What a way to end the story, eh? Nothing like bloodshed to spoil the peace and beauty of Christmas. Truth be told, there's still a lot of bloodshed in our world today. And the pause we take to witness the joy of Christmas doesn't pause the death and destruction on earth.

God has been trying to repair creation since the beginning... seeking to be in a saving relationship with God's people. In the Christmas story, God steps down off his heavenly throne and meets us in the midst of pain and hate and fear and conflict and violence... Because that's where we live. God took on our flesh and lived among us, to forgive and redeem us. We are called to pick up the cause daily -- to spread peace, joy, love and hope. God has asked us to be part of it. It our challenge to participate and be the hands and feet of Christ.

Go. Be. Do.

On a side note: 
There's been a lot of press about the Pope lately. Recently, he's been called a Marxist. But what's he's really preaching is Christianity (apparently, the two can somehow be confused.) He's speaking, not just to Catholics, but to all of mankind. He has been urging that people of all religions – or no religion – work together. “Even [athiests], everyone...” the pope said, “we all have the duty to do good... Just do good and we’ll find a meeting point.” [from a hypothetical conversation in which someone told a priest: “But I don’t believe. I’m an atheist.”]

Pope Francis’ reaching out to atheists and people who belong to no religion is a marked contrast to the attitude of former Pope Benedict, who sometimes left non-Catholics feeling that he saw them as second-class believers.

Written by Kay Weiss, guest blogger