Sermon Library
“Seeking and Living Spirituality”
Rev. Dr. Gregg R. Anderson
April 24, 2011
Service Theme: Easter Message – 2011
Easter Message – 2011 April 24, 2011
Seeking and Living Spirituality
Saving the Easter Bunny
A man was blissfully driving along the highway, when he saw the Easter Bunny hopping across the middle of the road. He swerved to avoid hitting the Bunny, but unfortunately not in time. The Bunny was hit and the basket of eggs went flying all over the place.
The driver being a sensitive man and an animal lover, got out of his car right away to tend to the colorful Bunny, but to his dismay the Bunny was not breathing. He cried, “What have I done?” holding the bunny in his arms.
A woman drove up behind him, saw what had happened and stopped to help. The man told the woman, “I feel terrible. I accidentally hit the Easter Bunny. There may not be an Easter because of me. What should I do?”
The woman said, “Don’t worry. I know what to do.” She went to her car and retrieved an aerosol can. She sprayed the contents all over the furry bunny. Miraculously the Easter Bunny came back to life, bounced up, picked up the spilled eggs, waved its paw and hopped on down the road. After a few hops the bunny turned around again and waved. The bunny took a few more hops, turned around and waved again. The bunny kept bouncing down the road, turned around again and waved good bye.
The man was astonished and asked the woman, “What in heaven’s name is in your spray can that saved the Easter Bunny?” The woman turned the can around so that the man could read the label. It simply said: “Hair spray. Restores life to dead hair and gives it bounce and adds a permanent wave.”
New Life
The joke about the Easter Bunny is relevant. Easter is about new life and restoration. I would like to assert to you this Easter morning that there is new life in religion today, a new faith which we all call spirituality. There is a new movement emerging today which is leaving the archaic creeds in the past and making faith real, relevant and alive today. But we do need to open ourselves up to this and look for it.
Highlands
I am grateful to be able to provide this Easter’s service at the Aspen Highlands. I think this is the first time we have ever held this service at the Highlands. It brings back memories for me because this is where I first lived and first worked when I moved here in 1972. I was hired by the Highlands to supervise cleaning.
I mention this because when I ended up living here permanently after vacationing and skiing here every year since I was in grade school I ended up having a unique calling, so to speak, to create a religious or spiritual presence in Aspen unlike it has ever had before. All the churches here were doing a good job, but with an extremely limited population. Somehow and for reasons which I cannot explain to this day, I became motivated to provide a broader and more realistic spiritual approach to life specifically to people in Aspen. Just being out here at the highlands this morning reminds me of my original purpose and motivation which led me to do what I am doing now.
Then I connected with the Aspen Chapel whose founders had a very similar purpose. It seemed to be a match and I was very grateful. I know what I wanted to do, but had no idea how to do it except to keep being open to all people and experiment with experiencing religion in a different way. Doing something different, for example, is what this Easter Sunrise Mountain service is all about.
Religious Humor
I always attempt to begin any sermon or message with humor in hopes of connecting and identifying with the people who may be in front of me. I want to loosen any barriers. I really appreciate religious humor. So, a few weeks ago I attended one of the comedic sessions held at the Wheeler Opera House entitled “Religious Humor.” I was looking forward to attending. I laughed at a number of the jokes, however, I left that one hour performance with a very heavy heart.
The jokes about religion were funny, but what bothered me the most is that such jokes were based on a very old and child like perspective of religion. I left so saddened thinking that too many people are stuck in such an old perspective of religion. I realized that it was probably not their fault. Perhaps the fault lies with organized religion itself. I realize that there is still a lot of old and narrow and dogmatic religion still around. But my purpose this morning and ever since I arrived here is to say that there is a new and improved hair spray for religion today. You just need to be open to it.
Christopher Hitchens
In keeping with this concern, I bring up the book by Christopher Hitchens who wrote a book entitled God Is Not Great. I read every word of this book and, ironically, I agree with everything he says. The problem is that everything he says about religion happens to be the very worst of religion without ever considering all the good of religion. He completely ignores anything good about religion which has been magnanimous over the years and only brings up the faults of religion. This is completely unfair.
Religulous
This also goes for the movie by Bill Mahar entitled Religulous as well. I agree with his comments, but again he picked out some of the worse of religion and demonstrated no idea of all the good that is being revitalized today in the world of spirituality.
Solution
The solution, however, exists with a restored way of looking at religion and spirituality. There is a new view of religion and spirituality which far surpasses all the old views we have held and been enshrined by dogmatic religion. We know more about the history and reality of Jesus today than we ever have before.
Making It Real
Christian Scholars, for example, are making the historical Jesus real for our modern minds. I feel the need to speak to people who are turned off by an old time religion. My concern is that is where people have left it and have been so turned off that they may not be paying attention to all the progress which is being made today. Yes – religion does progress. But we have to be open to this.
An Inner Spirituality
I am not sure what the future of faith will be, but I believe that there is an inner spirituality in most of us, if not all of us. So, I am simply encouraging everyone this morning to reopen that part of your heart and soul and explore that spirit deep within us. Many people consider their own spirituality to be very personal. And this is good, but it can also be enhanced in community, whether it is in a small group or a larger body. I would also encourage you to initiate such a conversation with a friend. Ask more questions. Seek new and different perspectives. They are out there. Reawaken your spirit. May I even dare say; resurrect your faith. It will be good for you. Give me a call. If you have concerns and questions, give me a call. I am actually quite serious. I do not have all the answers, but I would love the conversation.
A New Sunday School Lesson
Nine year old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday School. He responded, “Well, mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then he radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge after they crossed over to escape the Pharaoh and his army. All the Israelites were saved and then went camping.”
Then his mother asked, “Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?” So Joey had to admit and said, “Well, no, Mom. But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it.”
Making Sense
What Joey was doing was trying to make sense out of an old story. And I think this is what is going on in a significant realm of spirituality today. On the back of our bulletin, within the vision statement of the Chapel we can read about “redefining spiritual values, to question and to seek relevant answers in a troubled world.” This is what we have been trying to do for the past 40 years in the wilderness of Aspen.
Seeking and Living Spirituality
We at the Aspen Chapel have resurrected a new by-line recently from our vision and mission statements which is simply “Seeking and Living Spirituality.” Spirituality is always a seeking path and a living experience. We do not have all the answers, but we gain and make progress within the journey itself. It is not about getting there as much as it is going there.
My message is very simple this Easter. Just as the Easter Bunny was revived, let us look at reviving our own faith. I do not think it can be done with just a spray can, but it can still be easily done with a little seeking and learning. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you: For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
Amen.
Rev. Dr. Gregg R. Anderson
Aspen Chapel
Aspen, Colorado
http://www.aspenchapel.org