Sunday, October 14, 2018

SERMON 10.14.18 Lessons from Church, But Not in Worship


Sacred Lessons Learned from ‘Church’,
But Not in Worship

Rick and I just got back from five weeks in Switzerland, Italy, and Iceland. It was a fabulous trip and we experienced for the first time new cultures, new languages, new monetary systems. We traveled in every sort of transportation mode imaginable – foot, bike, car, taxi, bus, train, airplane, boat, and an assortment of funiculars and chair lifts. And for five consecutive Sundays, we never went to worship once. I think that might be a record for me, at least since my post college days!

But Rick will tell you that doesn’t mean we didn’t go to church – LOTS of churches. Probably more churches than Rick was truly interested in seeing. He’s a very patient man. But I have a thing about seeing steeples pointing up in villages, crosses high in the sky above the rooftops, bell towers of every size and shape. I love opening the huge, heavy doors and peeking inside. I find the sacred space in a church even when it is empty. I took pictures of churches and used them as the basis for my daily prayers. You saw some of those pictures as you entered today in the form of our pictorial prelude. While worship as we commonly perceive it wasn’t happening, a different type of personal worship was taking place. And in that worship, I recognized several sacred truths or lessons, which I want to share with you today. Hence the title of this sermon, “Sacred Lessons Learned in Church, but Not in Worship”.

Romans 2:1 Every single one of you who judge other is without any excuse. You condemn yourself when you judge another person because the one who is judging is doing the same things.
Lesson Number 1: Don't judge by looks.
We were given a map of Florence when we arrived off the train – marked with the highlights of the city: The Duomo, Santa Maria Novella Basillica, Santa Croce de Firenze - all famed churches, filled with historic art, with broad plazas and gardens around them. But I discovered the map also had tiny little black crosses on it, scattered throughout the heart of downtown. Were these also churches? I didn’t know what they were. One morning, as we exited a former church now museum, we crossed the narrow Italian street (and they are ALL narrow!) and I saw a somewhat drab, plain stucco facade tucked back from the curb. It didn’t look like much – it wasn’t very big - and we almost passed right by to seek some other renowned sight of Florence. But the simple cross on top called to me, “Hey, I’m a church too! I’m on the map!” You can’t be a very special one or very big, I thought to myself in judgment. But still, I opened the door and peeked inside.

Oh, don’t judge a book by its cover, people by their clothing, or a church by simply by its facade! Inside was a large cathedral, statues, carvings on the walls, and ancient artwork. Stained glass windows poured in enough light to see the beauty. A nun was giving organ or voice lessons and quiet music filtered through the sanctuary. It was every bit as sacred as its ‘bigger and brighter’ cousins. What did we discover? All those little red crosses represented equally beautiful spaces throughout the city. This was a lesson we must learn over and over it seems.

Matthew 6:33 Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.
Lesson Number 2: Put God at the top.


You can see a lot of countryside from the windows of a train. But you have to look fast because the view changes quickly! As we rode through northern Italy by rail, I spotted many a church on the top of a hill, high above the village below. Sometimes I wondered, “How in the world do the people get to the church?” In the Dolomites, we visited Santa Croce chapel, located at the end of trails and the chair lift, high on the mountain. In Iceland, we found churches on the town’s highest point. Not only did the steeples tower above the community, often the whole church did. Now perhaps this was a result of churches as a sanctuary or refuge – they had to be easily seen, but I like to think of it as a matter of priority. God comes first. God needs to be ‘at the top’ so to speak.

I realize this might sound in direct opposition to my first lesson with the churches tucked away in hidden corners of Florence, but perhaps we can interpret Florence as ‘Put God everywhere!’

One day in Iceland I saw and photographed five different churches – all in very remote towns or on farms. (Early Icelandic farmers thought they could earn favor with God by building a church on their farm – many are still standing.) Each of these churches was prominent due to their color – all red and white! They stood out! What was also interesting about these Icelandic churches was that few held Sunday worship services or had signs on the doors indicating when people might gather or even the name of the church! But their very existence spoke of a faith and a priority.

Where is the steeple in your life? In mine? Is it on a hilltop or at the bottom of the valley? Does our cross tower above so all can see and be inspired? Is our faith recognizable by our actions, our colors?




Genesis 9:13 I will hang a rainbow among the clouds. It will serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
Lesson Number 3: Surround yourself with beautiful reminders of God.

Churches built prior to the age of the printing press were filled with artwork – not because they wanted to be an art gallery, but because it was through the art on the walls that parishioners learned the stories of the Bible. The churches are literally covered with visual reminders of God With Us – through stained glass, murals and frescoes, sculpture, and
doors carved with Old and New Testament tales. Today we still put up liturgical art – banners or paraments – reminders of who we are as a people of God.

Outside of the sanctuary walls, what reminds us of God? Do the walls of our homes reflect our faith? Do we surround ourselves with the beauty of God’s love?

While in Iceland, the weather was less than ideal. We had frequent rain showers interspersed with periods of sunshine. The result was God’s most epic reminder – every day, several times a day! Rainbows marked our drive in from the Reykjavik airport upon arrival. God with us! Rainbows graced nearly every waterfall we visited. Rainbows would appear at random times along the lava cliffs or as we looked out the apartment window. And as we drove back to the airport? A full rainbow to say, “Safe travels home my child!” When you see a rainbow, are you singing Judy Garland or are you reminded of God?

Romans 1:20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature. They have no excuse for not knowing God.
Lesson Number 4: Sacred Spaces exist outside of churches.


We were hiking in the Berner-Oberland of Switzerland – that’s near the Eiger Peak of James Bond fame – the morning had started out in sunshine with some wonderful views, but within the hour we were hiking in the fog of a cloud. Yet music filled the air, bells ringing a symphony in the mist. Later in the trip along the western coast of Italy, we could hear the bells of three different churches ring out the hours – each playing a stanza of a sacred song. I couldn’t see the cows with their bells, and I never knew which church was playing, but in each instance, for a moment of time, a sacred space was carved out by the music of the bells. (Audio video of bells)

At a lake near the Matterhorn, famed for its near perfect reflection of the peak, we found a crowd of busy tourists. Two or three were surely gathered, yet I don’t think worship was on the minds of most of the gathering. But I climbed over a few rocks into a tiny alcove behind a rare still- blooming spray of fireweed. The rocks blocked out the people in front of me and suddenly the tiny space became sacred. As I crouched down low to take my picture, God was there in the pink blossoms, in the incredible mountain view, and even in the mud I got all over my pants.











Ephesians 5:8 You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, so live your life as children of light.
Lesson Number 5: There is One Light with many sources. We are individually part of that Light.

After the multitude of colors and artwork adorning the churches of Italy, we came to Iceland. MANY churches, but often sans stained glass with little ornamentation. Natural light flooded the sanctuaries. Even the stained glass we found was mostly white. I was struck with the presence of LIGHT. And then we visited Reykjavik’s most famous Hallgrimskirkja, a space shuttle shaped cathedral perched on the highest hill of the town. It was a rainy, windy gray

day, but still the sanctuary was filled with light. There was just one small stained glass in a little chapel corner,
the rest of the windows were clear glass. Huge gray-white stone columns mimicked the basalt columns of the island. The altar area, a space larger than our whole sanctuary, seemed to bounce light off from one side to another. In the back of the church, we found a globe shaped candle holder. It reminded me of the many candle areas we found in the Catholic churches of Italy, places where you ‘light a candle in memory or in prayer for another’. But the focus of this was to BE THE LIGHT! To take the light into all the world, hence the globe shape. I loved the symbolism and it seemed to be a fitting finale for our trip and our church visits. The poem that accompanied the candle holder we are using later in the service.

With the light of the Icelandic churches in mind, I thought back to the multitude of churches we visited – Reformation churches in Switzerland, Catholic churches of all sizes and shapes in Italy, the state Lutheran churches of Iceland. Many faiths, One God. Many interpretations, One God. Many cultures. One God. One Light. And we have a responsibility to carry that LIGHT with us into the world – every day.

So….5 lessons of judgment, priority, surroundings, Creation, and Light. May we continue to seek what God has to teach us wherever we may be and in whatever manner God uses. May we have the hearts to see and listen. Amen.



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