Hyde Park United Methodist

On this Sunday we join with Christians around the world in a public act of corporate, emotional gratitude, as we honor the saints who have gone before us. By honoring them, we see our own place in the grand march of history and the ongoing work of God. That recognition is a humbling motivation for us to turn in our estimates of giving and contribute to the unfolding story of God’s love. HydeParkUMC.org/EOGHydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

Living with Gratitude means opening our heart to wonder, awe, and an awareness of God’s blessings in our lives, both great and small. Diana Butler Bass describes this first quadrant of gratitude as Personal/Emotional: “If you emphasize me and emotions, you are probably attuned to the inner dimensions of awe, surprise, and appreciation and have strong feelings when someone helps you, serves you, or gives you a gift. You define gratitude in terms of delight, joy, or surprise.”

Matthew 28 contains the words of the Great Commission, the iconic final command of Jesus to the disciples. His charge to “go into all the world” to make disciples makes it a fitting text for our annual Missions Celebration Sunday. As we celebrate our partnerships with missions agencies locally around the world, this text begs the question: is there more to engaging in missions than simply supporting efforts from a distance? Was Jesus also calling us to make missions a way of being, a way of life? Those are the compelling questions that our guest preacher Rev. Dr. Martyn Atkins will explore with us. He has 40 years of experience in British Methodism and is a leader in the Fresh Expressions movement and the World Methodist Council. He is currently serving Lighthouse UMC in Boca Grande, which was severely impacted by Hurricane Ian. We welcome him this Sunday and are honored by his insights and wisdom.

Neurologically speaking, our brains do not shut down when we go to sleep, and our subconscious kicks into gear with processing the flurry of information that we wrestle with during our waking hours. Is it possible that God speaks to us through our subconscious? On this Sunday, we’ll look at various scientific and psychological studies about dreaming, and learn how to put our dreams into context. Yes, it is possible that God speaks to us through our dreams, but interpreting them requires intentionality and care, just like everything else related to listening for God’s voice.

We can all admit that we don’t like to wait. Time moves sometimes like an Arctic glacier.  The second hand on the clock seems to tick every five minutes. It’s like someone pressed the giant pause button in the sky. Or even in reverse. We are the cyber-speed, hyper-drive generation. We like our internet connectivity to be fiber optic, our exercise regimen to be done in minutes rather than months, our meals to be ready at a moment’s notice, and our online orders to be delivered when the website promises. We don’t like to wait. For the doctor, for the traffic, for our dinner, for the mail carrier … or for God. But as part of this series on the art of hearing God’s voice, we should acknowledge and affirm that waiting - as hard as it may be - is an essential part of trusting in and following Jesus. But with that challenge comes good news. The prophet Isaiah promises that waiting on the Lord renews our strength, enabling us to fly like an eagle, and run and walk the journey of life for the long haul. 

One of the hardest parts about hearing God’s voice is when we have to confront so much hurt and brokenness in the world. We wonder what God is doing and saying in the face of such suffering around us. The scripture reading for this Sunday is more commonly heard on Ascension Sunday, but its principles apply all year long. God is calling us to be the very hands, feet, and voice of Jesus in a world that is longing to see, hear, and experience God’s presence, activity, and voice. Jesus promised his disciples, and promises us, that the Holy Spirit is with us, empowering us to the task. On this World Communion Sunday, and in the weeks leading up to Missions Celebration Sunday on October 23, we affirm and acknowledge the part we play in making God’s love real around the world. We also remember that the communion liturgy asks God to “make [the elements] the body and blood of Christ, that we might be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.”

The author of Proverbs describes the life of faith as acknowledging God, so that God can direct our path (steps). That means trusting that God will reveal the journey ahead of us, one step at a time, so that our main job is to take a step of faith when God is calling us to do so. This does not mean, however, that we simply sit back and let God do the revealing. We have to be intentional about listening, surrendering, and watching for the Spirit, so we can “sing when the Spirit says sing,” in the words of the old spiritual. That is what Proverbs describes as “leaning not unto our own understanding.” 

It goes without saying, but the first step in hearing God’s voice is having the desire to hear God’s voice. That should go without saying, but there is good news in that reminder. Just like Thomas Merton’s classic prayer says, the desire to please God does itself please God, even amid times of bewilderment. Hearing God’s voice is rooted in prayer, balanced among three dimensions, which can be remembered through the acronym S.O.S.

We are hungry for a sense of purpose, direction, and calling in our lives.  That’s as basic an ingredient to the human experience as they come.  We want to be part of something bigger than ourselves.  We want to participate in something that has eternal merit and lasting impact.  We do not want to live a shallow, hollow existence.  We yearn for deeper meaning, for deeper purpose within our lives.  We want to be more than we are.

We conclude our worship series “The Meaning of Methodist” this Sunday with one of the chief hallmarks of Methodism. John Wesley observed the concept of the “via media” in developing his practical theology. He would often take the best of two ideological opposites to form a “way in the middle,” a vital third way that enabled people to hold the center together. We’ll explore why that is such a timely and necessary position today and discover how to apply that in our lives.

Rev. Dr. Gary Mason of Rethinking Conflict in Belfast, Northern Ireland will be our guest preacher for the day. He can speak to the global nature of the church and the impact that the United Methodist can make in the work of peace with justice and the alleviation of suffering. Together, we live out the vision of John Wesley to make a difference in the physical, social, and systemic brokenness of the world. For in his words, “There is no holiness apart from social holiness.” 

In the Exodus reading, Moses discovered that the task of leading the people and advancing the mission of God among the Israelites was too great for one person to handle. That’s why he created a connectional system of governance, administration, and support. Likewise, the idea of connectionalism is at the heart of being United Methodist. Each congregation is part of an interconnected whole of people and congregations around the world, joined by districts, conferences, jurisdictions, and central/regional conferences. We are ultimately connected by a General Conference. Likewise, no one person in the local church has all the power. We have staff and lay people serving on various committees that each share a vital part of leading the whole of the church. We all play a part in making ministry happen and advancing the mission of God.

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, believed that works of devotion, service, and love are necessary. Not to earn our salvation, but to mature our salvation.  And just like a tree that does not bear fruit, or a bird that has no song, or a star that produces no light, salvation without works is pointless. Even though we don’t earn our salvation by our works, we can’t use our salvation without works.  The phrase that Wesley coined here is that we must “work out our salvation.” We need to prove it, express it, and exercise it with our deeds. And this lies at the heart of what it means to be called “Methodist.”

One of the hallmarks of United Methodism is the nuanced way that John Wesley both embraced human free will and God's grace. Both God's power and human will are necessary for salvation. Yes, we get to choose. But only because God's power makes our choice possible. Before we even knew there was a choice to make, eve as soon as we were born, God was hard at work drawing, luring us, convincing us to choose faith in Jesus. 

In Top Gun: Maverick, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell confronts his regrets about his past and the consequences of his action and inaction. It's not unlike the disciple Peter confronting his denial and betrayal of Jesus.

In Paul’s classic metaphor of the church as the body of Christ, he reminds believers that each of them are responsible to one another for building each other up. When one suffers, all suffer with them. When one rejoices, all rejoice with them. Often, our society encourages us to think of ourselves individually, with our own uniqueness and special qualities that distinguish us from one another. But even in Paul’s description of spiritual gifts, he reminds us that those gifts are useful only in the context of community, when each person does their part. Encanto is a film about a family who, on the surface, seems remarkable because of the enchanting qualities of each of its members. But deep down, we discover that they are as dysfunctional as the rest of our families are, with their own secrets and skeletons. In the end, they discover that mutual love for each other, not outwardly remarkable abilities, is what makes them special.

The book of Ephesians is Paul’s clearest and greatest appeal to unity in Christ, despite all the forces that would otherwise tear us apart. Ever since the Tower of Babel, human beings have been proliferating in their diversity, and gathering in camps and tribes that often become at odds with each other. The Christians of Ephesus were tempted to allow their differences with one another compromise their unity and their common witness to the world. The prevalent use of the word “one” in this scripture passage underscores Paul’s call for Christians to be one together. 

The classic comic book character Batman embodies the spirit of vengeance and retribution. He is deemed a vigilante by the general public, and during the most recent film “The Batman,” declares, “I am vengeance.” In many ways, Batman represents our base instincts to seek revenge on others, which must be tempered by a commitment to love, and to a justice that is forged by peace and forgiveness. 

The early church gained in notoriety and vitality by becoming a community with hospitality and generosity. They welcomed new persons into the fellowship and ultimately, in Acts 15, extended the reach of God’s love to people who would otherwise be excluded. This spirit of expansive welcome is rendered beautifully in the production Come From Away, based on the true story of a small town of Gander, Newfoundland, who welcomed frightened, weary travelers in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.

The film "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" demonstrates the healing power of love and forgiveness. The acclaimed Fred Rogers serves as the conduit of that grace, as he interacts with Lloyd Vogel, a reporter who has been struggling with how to forgive his father and be reconciled with his family. Through the course of the film, and because of the kind, thoughtful, enduring wisdom of Mr. Rogers, Lloyd discovers how to experience a new kind of love, and a fuller relationship with others.