Wednesday’s thoughts
The sermon for Sunday, October 7th will look at religion as a private and a communal matter. Abraham Heschel had this to say about religion:
“Little does contemporary religion ask us us. It is ready to offer comfort; it has no courage to challenge. It is ready to offer edification; it has no courage to break the idols, to shatter callousness. The trouble is that religion has become ‘religion’—institution, dogma, ritual. It is no longer an event. Its acceptance involves neither risk nor strain. Religion has achieved respectability….When faith is completely replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; when the crisis of today is ignored because of the splendor of the past; when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion, its message becomes meaningless.”
This speaks to us in many ways. It says something about our personal faith and something about our corporate life. It says something about what makes us come alive and what moves us to act.
Sunday we will celebrate communion. Once more we will hear traditional words applied to our current and daily struggles.
We can be religious without being involved in church, but for those of us who are involved in church it is important that we keep alive the spark of religion that leads us toward transformation.
Is religion private or corporate? Is it both? Are both required to keep religion alive?
I think so. In the church we have the privilege and the obligation to keep alive the faith of those who have gone before us, and to keep alert to the faith of those who will come after us.
How are we doing at First Church with this? I think this is the most exciting church I have served. We have a great staff, a great congregation, a wonderful building, and dreams and visions for what we need to do and become.
What is your thought about First Church? Write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to share your thoughts with others click on the ‘comments’ box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
