Journey Inward... Journey Outward...

“Far from being essentially opposed to each other,
interior contemplation and exterior activity
are two aspects of the same love of God.”

                                          - Thomas Merton

With 2022 well underway, the rhythm of weekly worship opens a two month period in our life together before the coming of Lent.  Ten days ago, we began a Winter Sermon Series with the intriguing theme: JOURNEY INWARD…JOURNEY OUTWARD…(Spiritual Formation and Ethical Action in the Christian Life).

There are two essential energies which pulsate through the Christian life.  The first is the need to be inwardly formed…to receive a sense that we are rooted in the grace of God and God’s love expressed to us in Jesus Christ.  The second energy is the movement towards self-giving service and ethical involvement.  We live in a world that is “out of sorts.”  We sense that the Christian vision prods us to moral concern and ethical involvement.

This Sermon Series will help us struggle with four great themes, exploring on successive Sundays their “inward” and “outward” dimensions.  We began with the introductory sermon, “Light Living in a Dark World” and are now looking at inner and outer peace.  As the successive three pairs of Sundays come we will also explore ecology, prejudice and justice.

Here is what the schedule will look like.

Jan. 16                         “Other Lords and God’s Peace”  (Outer Peace)
                                                Isaiah 30:8-18 & Luke 1:67-80

Jan. 23                         “The Vessel and the Vision”  (Inner Ecology)
                                                Gen. 1:24-31 & II Cor. 4:7-18

Jan. 30                         “When the Land Mourns”  (Outer Ecology)
                                                Hosea 4:1-10 & Rev. 21:22-22:5

Feb. 6                          “Exploring Your Inheritance Clause”  (Inner Prejudice)                    
                                                Zechariah 12:8-10, 13:1 & Gal. 3:15-29 

Feb. 13                        “The Genealogy of Faith”  (Outer  Prejudice)
                                                Ruth 2:1-13 & Matt. 1:1-16 

Feb. 20                        “Living the Promise”   (Inner Justice)
                                                Gen. 15:1-6 & Rom. 4:13-25 

Feb. 27                        “Searching the City Streets”   (Outer Justice)
                                                Jer. 5:1-9 & Rom. 3:21-26

We hope you will journey with us in worship either in-person or online for this important exploration together.  In the words of the poet, W. H. Auden,

            “There are two atlases: the one the public space where acts are done,
              in theory common to us all…the other is the inner space of personal
              ownership, the place that each of us is forced to own like his or her
              own life from which it’s grown.”

                                                                        In Peace and Love, 

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This piece originally appeared in The Wave on January 12, 2022