Progressive Faith Sermons - Dr. Roger Ray
571 episodes - English - Latest episode: 13 days ago - ★★★★★ - 140 ratingsSermons from the Community Christian Church of Springfield, MO.
We are believers in Jesus Christ who accept all people without judgment and who desire to work and worship as a community striving for social justice.
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Episodes
Why No One in the Bible Accepted Jesus Christ as their Personal Lord and Savior
April 07, 2024 10:00 - 21 minutes - 15.4 MBTwo great periods of revivals saved the Christian religion from extinction in the United States. The Great Awakening, near the birth of our nation, and The Second Great Awakening that came along with the western expansion, the Civil War, and the end of slavery. Much of what modern American Christians think is a biblical faith is actually the echos of revivalist preaching based on a very poor reading of the writings of John Calvin.
The First Easter
March 31, 2024 10:00 - 33 minutes - 23.8 MBEaster, as it has been taught to us through traditional modern sermons, is, as Bishop John Shelby Spong described it, simply "unbelievable." Stepping back from the "yippee, we're all gonna live forever" myth, this lecture tries to treat the first Easter in a historical context with a critical discussion of early Christian writing.
This is Not Normal
March 24, 2024 10:00 - 18 minutes - 13.1 MBTHIS IS NOT NORMAL! Cultural values we worked hard to correct over the past century are slipping back into what is being allowed to become normative language, thinking, and voting. North Carolina's GOP nominated candidate for governor, Mark Robinson, who enjoyed more than 60% of the vote in the primary, has publicly denied the holocaust, insisted that the Nazis were "not that bad," is opposed to women's right to vote, to LGBT+ rights, and he even insists that the Sandy Hook School shootings ...
Redemptive Suffering
March 10, 2024 11:00 - 21 minutes - 15.6 MBThe sad news of Alexey Navalny's death in prison brings to mind many who have chosen personal sacrifice as a way to raise awareness in the public's mind or to confront the evils of governments through the centuries. Navalny takes his place along side the likes of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and others whose names remain written on our hearts. There is a kind of suffering that can be redemptive. We might wish that such sacrifices were unnecessary but, alas, they almost al...
How Much Does it Cost Me?
February 25, 2024 11:01 - 19 minutes - 13.8 MB32 of the 33 developed nations in the world have universal healthcare. Why is the United States the only outlier? We spend more on healthcare than any of the other nations, why can't we get the distribution system to be more fair? We also have between five and ten times as many of our citizens in prison, than any of those other developed nations. Why have we not managed to address the roots of poverty (which is what causes most crime) as those other nations have? Obviously, it is some comb...
Fear is the Root of Anger
February 11, 2024 11:00 - 20 minutes - 14.3 MBMen and sometimes women confuse anger with a show of strength, or of being courageous when, in most cases, anger is simply a product of being afraid. As we try to understand the dangerous divisions within our American population, I think that we need to give careful consideration to the role of grievance, of irrational anger fueled by a paranoid level of fear. Fear of immigrants, loss of white privilege, and Evangelical influence in society is largely ephemeral but the consequences but a mov...
God Doesn’t Write Books
January 28, 2024 11:00 - 29 minutes - 21 MBFor many congregations, the Bible is still the church's book but not many progressives find scripture to be either authoritative or even relevant in their lives. We have lost an anchor in our lives when we give up on sacred texts but the church of the 21st century has to find its truth to less clearly identified but indisputably more reliable sources.
What Your Teacher Didn’t Tell You (and probably didn’t know)
January 14, 2024 11:00 - 29 minutes - 21.5 MBThe prophetic church has always advocated for human rights, civil rights, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and has opposed the forces that create poverty, war, illness, and racism. As fascist language keeps rising in our current political environment, the prophetic church must find its voice again; before it is too late.
Time Does Not Exist
December 31, 2023 11:09 - 26 minutes - 18.9 MBTime is not a material thing. Our units of time actually measure movement, i.e. if there was no movement the concept of time would be meaningless. Talk about going back in time is not merely science fiction, it is, in fact, more a matter of fantasy, of imagination disengaged from reality. Understanding science is increasingly important but to move forward intellectually we have to accept that simply saying "it pleases me to believe in delusions" is not helpful.
Finding Balance in a World that Demands Action
December 17, 2023 11:00 - 18 minutes - 15.9 MBAmericans have fewer annual vacation days than any other western government and more than that, we tend to tie retirement and healthcare to our employment. So, out of fear and anxiety, we work more than almost any other nation and yet have millions without healthcare, income, or housing. Our world obviously needs our involvement and action but it also needs for us to step back from the fire and gain perspective, insight, wisdom, and peace. Take a break. Enjoy the holiday. Then come back smar...
“When the Darkness Stares Back” (the world on the brink of war)
December 03, 2023 14:30 - 18 minutes - 13.6 MBThe war in Ukraine shows no signs of coming to an end and now the war in Gaza is escalating to an unthinkable death toll and seems only to get worse daily. What are we to make of these tragic wars that remind us so much of the way that WWII started? And as Americans, since our tax dollars and military hardware are deeply involved in both wars, what are we to say within this democracy that is supposed to care what we think?
No One Hears the Sound of a Wooden Bell
November 19, 2023 12:00 - 19 minutes - 13.9 MBThe United States has perpetuated compromises in our constitution which were originally written to give slave holding states assurances that the institution of slavery would not be immediately wiped out by larger and more populous industrial states. What gave some citizens a larger voice in managing our government at the end of the 18th century has become a choke collar in the 21stcentury, taking away the voice of the poor, minorities, and immigrant communities who tend to live in major citi...
Is Justice Blind Or Just Crazy?
November 05, 2023 10:00 - 18 minutes - 13 MBThe familiar image of Lady Justice, blindfolded, holding up balanced scales in one hand and a sword in the other (a little frightening if she can’t see) suggests our desire that we will be a nation of laws and that there is only one standard of justice in the nation. We hope that the rich and the poor, people of all races, nations of origin, and public status will be treated the same in our courts. However, we know that is not how it really works. We have a goal of equal justice in mind but ...
Israel and Palestine (Migration, Immigration, Colonizing, Occupation)
October 22, 2023 10:00 - 26 minutes - 19.2 MBMost of us have given an uncommon amount of time and energy to the news in the past weeks as Israel mounts a military response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks launched by Hamas. Just as the USA did after 9-11, it is only human to want to strike back against such a horrible act of war with an overpowering military response. But Hamas is like Isis, they are more of an ideology of hate than they are an army or even a political party. Trying to fight an abhorrent idea always ends up killing more...
Why Support Ukraine’s War with Russia?
October 08, 2023 11:00 - 32 minutes - 23.4 MBDoes our support for Ukraine in their defensive war against Russia’s invasion qualify as a “just war?” Thomas Aquinas insisted that for a war to be just it must be conducted by a sovereign government, and the war must be for a just cause, and it must be fought by soldiers who fight to accomplish something that is good. Of course, innocent people die in all wars and no army is comprised of entirely noble soldiers, so war crimes will be committed by all nation’s armies in some instances. When ...
Creating Spiritual Community in a Post-Pandemic World
September 24, 2023 10:00 - 18 minutes - 13.6 MBChurch attendance, especially among progressives is in decline, and financial support of these struggling congregations is going down even faster. Do we have a way of forming spiritual communities without churches, pastors, and budgets or do we need to redouble our efforts to save the ones we still have?
We Can’t All Be Above Average
September 10, 2023 16:49 - 21 minutes - 15.4 MBMore than a year away from the next presidential election, it appears that we may have the same candidates that we had in 2020, in spite of multiple criminal charges against Donald Trump that range from insurrection to theft of nuclear secrets and classified documents. Why are his supporters so loyal when he doesn't seem to feel any obligation to be honest with them? Could we be looking at a cult of voters who are willing to undermine democracy and individual freedom to assuage the ego of th...
(Still) Learning to Tell a Story
August 27, 2023 11:00 - 22 minutes - 17.4 MBToday is my last sermon as co-pastor and so, this week, I’ve been looking back as a way of looking forward, thinking about and learning from the years we’ve spent together. I am grateful for all the ways that our community has helped transform the stories that dominate our society and to turn it around: offering kindness instead of condemnation, and justice instead of a tired resignation to the way things are. Our banners boldly remind us that we will not stand idly by, that we can make a di...
The Limits of Shame
August 20, 2023 11:00 - 21 minutes - 16.8 MBWhile shame and humiliation are part of the human experience, we should not promote them or build our communities and movements around them. Instead, let’s focus on becoming places where we learn to care for ourselves and one another, with healing for when we hurt and celebration for when we thrive. Wisdom and compassion as a “way of knowing” will serve us better for creating social norms and communities where we can learn to take care of our personal and collective well-being; where we can ...
End of Life Issues
August 13, 2023 11:00 - 27 minutes - 20.1 MBThe suicide of a 40 year old scientist (and athlete and musician) raises two crucial issues with modern day America. 1) While we have possibly the most advanced medical science in the world, our distribution of health care and our priorities in research are based on profit and not health and that is killing us. 2) The government (and the police) insert themselves into an individual's choice to end their own life when they have no prospect of living meaningfully, which forces them to not disc...
Facing the Facts of Moral Corruption in Government
August 06, 2023 10:00 - 18 minutes - 13.2 MBThe authors of America's Declaration of Independence acknowledged that people seem to be willing to suffer the abuses of their government until such time that the liberties the government gives to itself become unbearable. With the loss of voter protection, the license given to corporations to make political donations (bribes), taking away affirmative action, women's right to manage their own reproductive lives, and the open threat to the civil rights of gay, lesbian, and trans folks, isn't ...
“Our Humble Return”: Knowing our Capacities, Boundaries, and Aspirations
July 30, 2023 10:00 - 17 minutes - 13.7 MBAnyone actively involved in trying to make the world a better place has felt the pressures to push past our limitations, abandon boundaries, and sacrifice our well-being and aspirations in the name of a cause. While it is true that sometimes we may strategically and intentionally place our needs to the side to deal with a crisis, it is not sustainable or healthy to do so over the long-term – for ourselves or our movements. Jo Musker-Sherwood called this commitment to knowing and honoring our...
Listening is the first duty of Love
July 23, 2023 10:00 - 20 minutes - 14.8 MBTik Tok, Instagram, Twitter, and our very cell phones themselves have shortened our attention span to the point that we hard know how to talk to one another anymore and even worse, it seems that we are nearly incapable of listening to someone. We can never understand another person, especially not someone we are inclined to avoid or reject, unless we are willing to actively, patiently, and sincerely listen to them long enough for them to feel heard and for us to understand them, even if we s...
Empty Promises: From Consumerism to Community
July 16, 2023 10:00 - 25 minutes - 20.5 MBWe often reflect on how economic and social disparities are symptoms of an unhealthy society, associated with environmental degradation, poverty, violence, and oppression. However, we continue to hurtle headlong toward ever-increasing disparities. Examining the rise and role of consumerism can help us understand some of the reasons why this is so, and what we can do to encourage change.
“Beyond Blaming and Agonizing”: Lovingkindness Practice in Ordinary Life
July 09, 2023 10:00 - 26 minutes - 20.3 MBFollowing up on my reflections in June, I share some of the ways that lovingkindness meditation has been helpful in my own life, especially with transforming self-hatred and anger into understanding and kindness. All of us who are committed to continually growing into compassionate, wise people can benefit from having these kinds of skills and resources available to us, our communities, and our movements for justice – increasing our wellbeing now and supporting us when we need them the most.
The Positive Value of Philanthropy
July 02, 2023 10:00 - 15 minutes - 11.4 MBThe most popular forms of philanthropy, in giving sandwiches and sleeping bags to the unhoused or sending goats to poor farmers in Central America are symbolic gestures. Handing out free meals is not a solution to poverty and sending goats to Central America rarely has the intended effect. (The goats I sent to Nicaragua a few years ago ended up eating all of the neighbors’ vegetable gardens and nearly started a village war!) But these gestures can be seen at teaching opportunities that help ...
When Philanthropy Goes Bad
June 25, 2023 10:00 - 16 minutes - 12.3 MBThis part 1 of a two-part series on philanthropy. Today we consider the ways that charitable foundations can be twisted into being tax loopholes for the super-rich while still allowing the wealthy to use 95% of the foundation’s holdings to invest in stocks that profit them personally. Part 2 will be about the benefits of philanthropy which can be huge, but the downside of our tax structure that punishes people for being poor and rewards people for being rich deserves our attention.
On Accidentally Getting Old
June 18, 2023 10:00 - 20 minutes - 14.6 MBWe get lots of cultural signals that our personal worth goes down with each birthday. Many feel pressured to choose extreme measures to deny the reality of the passing of time, but rather than grieving over what age takes away from us, maybe we can spend some time considering what gifts can come with old age? The British philosopher, Bertrand Russell, praised the advantages of getting older, especially in making a hard exit from the ego driven competition of our younger years. We can be libe...
“As Wide as the World”: Cultivating Wisdom and Compassion in the face of Violence and Coercion
June 11, 2023 10:00 - 25 minutes - 19.9 MBWeek after week, we turn our attention to injustice, violence, and oppression, so that we can encourage one another to not stand idly by. But as we face all this suffering, there is also that nagging question: How can we humans be so wonderful and horrible at the same time? So generous and compassionate on the one hand and so cruel and violent on the other? By reflecting on our own experiences and listening to the emerging research on violence and empathy, we can make decisions that build re...
“Nothing Humane”: A Lament and Plea for Rights-Respecting Border Policies
June 04, 2023 10:00 - 20 minutes - 16.2 MBIn May, the Biden Administration announced a new border plan, which turns out to be more of the same, including recycling failed and dangerous policies. Even Federal asylum officers have called the new plan “inconsistent with the asylum law enacted by Congress, the treaties the United States has ratified, and our country’s moral fabric and longstanding tradition of providing safe haven to the persecuted.” We must continue to speak out against continued abuses and injustices against migrants,...
As You Suspected, It Really is about Race
May 28, 2023 10:00 - 24 minutes - 17.8 MBOur deeply divided nation will not become unified by learning to either deny or accept the racism and prejudice that is inherent in American culture. We should be kind and patient but we must not fail to be honest and factual about our history of institutional racism and religious prejudice and to chart a higher path towards unity by dispelling the scourge of our irrational hatreds and fears.
“Abundance, Regeneration, and Healing”: Permaculture and Spiritual Practice
May 21, 2023 10:00 - 20 minutes - 15.8 MBHumanity’s collective hubris has led us to the edge of catastrophe, as we have collectively ignored the reality of climate change and wreaked destruction on the environment for decades and centuries. Yet not all is lost. We have the science, data, technology, and practices we need to nourish cultures and communities where this kind of hubris, whether dumping contaminants into groundwater or pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, is avoided as much as possible, and recognized, healed, ...
In Honor of Childless Mothers
May 14, 2023 09:00 - 17 minutes - 12.4 MBt is Mother's Day but rather than deliver a solipsistic sermon in praise of mothers, I am going to talk about influential female mentors who never gave birth. This is a personal message, naming the wise women who guided me in hope that you will remember the childless mothers in your life. I can’t copy it all here but I encourage you to look up and read this poem: An Ode to Childless Mothers by Natasha Sanders
Quicker to Cut than to Care: The Urgency of Climate Justice
May 07, 2023 09:00 - 20 minutes - 15.1 MBWith the release of the final section of the IPCC’s sixth report last month, humans are without excuse. There is no time left to value short-term profits over long term health. It took billions of years for all this earthly beauty to blossom, a vibrant and interconnected web of living and dying. If humanity is to have a future here, it is imperative that we notice, listen, and act – now.
Compassion is the Foundation of Faith and Civilization
April 30, 2023 09:00 - 32 minutes - 23.4 MBWithout absolutes, without a God given set of rules in holy writ or a supernatural theistic judge in the clouds, how do we determine right from wrong or even sensibly talk about what it means to be good? Are these arbitrary value judgements in a toothless religious debate? Progressives tend to elevate the value of compassion as a primary spiritual attribute. As you might guess, conservatives and progressives don’t always agree!
Who Wants to Be a Good Person?
April 23, 2023 11:00 - 19 minutes - 14.5 MBIn the ancient Persian slave ghetto, Zoroastrian religion evolved an expression of ethics and eternity that influenced what became modern Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Their succinct description of how to be a good person was the three fold injunction to think good thought, speak good words, and do good actions. I tell my world religion students that this has hardly been improved upon over the centuries but now, in 2023, I am forced to wonder if many people even have being a “good person...
Missouri’s Anti-Trans Actions and Our Continued Resistance
April 21, 2023 09:00 - 13 minutes - 10.9 MBThis last week, trans folks in Missouri have been living in the thick of the intentional, ongoing attacks against transgender lives. On Thursday, April 13, 2023, Missouri’s Attorney General, Andrew Bailey, issued expanded emergency regulations that effectively restrict and, in many cases, make impossible life-saving, life-giving care that many transgender and gender expansive people depend on. We are supporting each other and doing an amazing job of it. We are not giving up or backing down. ...
What is the Nature of the Mystery otherwise known as God?
April 16, 2023 11:00 - 28 minutes - 23.9 MBWhen we begin to give up the formal, creedal faith of our youth, accepting that no religion is entirely true and no sacred text was actually written by God, many people will abandon the journey of faith entirely. But for those of us who find value in a spiritual life, we are inclined to turn away from the false certainty of formal religion and turn towards the more honest uncertainty of a mystical faith in which we accept the “isness” of God, as Meister Eckhart said, “God is a word unspoken,...
“Life is Longer than Death”
April 09, 2023 11:00 - 18 minutes - 14.4 MBWalter Brueggemann posed the challenge of Easter as deciding to be “a part of the Easter movement of civil disobedience that contradicts the empire,” to “see if life is longer than death.” Each day, we face a litany of suffering born of oppression, mirroring the crucifixion, that we must match with the determination to keep going, mirroring the resurrection. In the face of injustice, we insist on creating just, joyful, equitable communities. At Easter, we repeat these stories in order to rem...
Judas, An Imaginary Character We Have All Met
April 02, 2023 11:00 - 19 minutes - 14.2 MBThis is Palm Sunday so I am going to take my speaking time this week to demythologize the gospel narrative a bit. Judas was not a historical character. Mark created a literary fiction and named him Judas, which is spelled "Judah" in Greek, and means "Jew." Judas represented the faith community, nation, and family of Jesus. Mark set's the execution in a passion narrative in which Jesus is betrayed by his family, his faith community, his friends, his nation . . . and haven't we all been there?...
The Plight of the Progressive Church
March 26, 2023 11:00 - 18 minutes - 13.5 MBNot many of us got to enjoy the luxury of growing up in a "woke" environment. A great deal of growing us has involved overcoming the prejudices and too comfortable peace we had with the status quo. Being progressive often means that we are giving ourselves to give voice to our own stories, detailing how and why we felt compelled to change. We can be grateful for a lot of our family of origin and the religious community in which we grew up, but we are under no obligation to deny or hide the s...
Moving a Balloon, Moving a Rock: On Patience & Praxis
March 19, 2023 11:00 - 16 minutes - 13.1 MBElsa Tamez wrote that “The situation of oppression and pain tends to make people feel depressed, to dehumanize them, to destroy not only their bodies but also their spirit, to make them see their oppression as normal and natural.” These words will be recognizable to anyone who belongs to a marginalized community. Unmasking the lie that change is not only impossible, it is unnatural, we are called to respond with a praxis grounded in our values. We connect patience with resistance and integri...
“Don’t Say Gay (or Trans)” in Missouri
March 12, 2023 12:00 - 25 minutes - 20.4 MB2023 has been unprecedented in the barrage of attacks on gender and sexuality minorities by both public commentators and lawmakers across the USA. From calls to “eradicate transgenderism” to the continued insistence to “Don’t Say Gay,” we are witnessing a cultural and legislative movement that specifically aims to make it more difficult for LGBTQIA2s+ folks to be safe, access basic care and protective rights, and joyfully live out our beautiful, human lives.
It’s not left or right, it is right or wrong
March 05, 2023 12:00 - 22 minutes - 16 MBTime Magazine’s choice of the women of Iran as their heroes of the year for 2022 is a fitting tribute to the courage and sacrifice necessary to incite a serious reformation within Islam. Adherents often say that Islam is a religion of peace and it certain can be that and is that for most Muslims but in nations with conservative Islamic regimes, the truth can be anything but peace. The women of Iran are an inspiration to all of us who hope for liberty and equality.
Age and Ageism regarding the Pandemic and Presidents
February 26, 2023 12:00 - 14 minutes - 10.4 MBIt has always been true that Covid-19 presented a greater threat to the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions but in this time that so many people insist on calling "post covid" we are still losing 300 people a day to Covid and most of them are over 65, and the majority of them have been vaccinated. Our indifference towards the death of the aged reflects the veneration of youth in our culture and the devaluation of the lives of senior citizens. Being dismissive of the threat Covid r...
Open to Change
February 19, 2023 12:00 - 20 minutes - 16.3 MBFor many of us, society is not a safe place to exist, and we lack the supports and resources we need to thrive as human beings. Yet even when we enter into movements and spaces dedicated to working for social justice, activism fatigue and burnout take their toll. Can we practice in such a way that kindness leads to confidence, compassion and wisdom create safety, and a trustworthy community helps us remain open to change?
From Mindless Consumption to Grateful Contentment
February 12, 2023 12:00 - 20 minutes - 16.5 MBMany societies, including American society, have made mindless consumption a way of life. Not having clear paths for working with suffering in skillful ways, we are encouraged at every turn to merely cope, while our core social issues are often left unhealed and untransformed. Spiritual and reflective practices offer a way for us to cultivate insight, let go of habits that harm, make healthy choices that heal and make us happy, and build cultures and communities where we can continually move...
“Out of Hand”: Tyre Nichols, Police Brutality, and Nonviolence
February 06, 2023 12:00 - 7 minutes - 5.99 MBThe beginning of Black History Month has been already crowded with new entries in our long history of violence and inequality. Yet even while we mourn, honoring the grief and rage of the recent murder of Tyre Nichols, officials in power have been quick to remind everyone that protests must be “peaceful and nonviolent” and that there is a “right way” to protest. However, people’s anger and grief at injustice is not the root problem. What is “out of hand” is a system that depends on police bru...
The Linchpin of a Chariot: Caring for One Another
February 05, 2023 12:00 - 16 minutes - 12.4 MBWe spend a lot of time focused on understanding and transforming social norms that bring about injustice, oppression, and violence. But we also know that it is just as important to hold that awareness of our capacity for injustice alongside an awareness of our capacity for cooperative, kind relationships. We use the wisdom of both to learn how to establish wellbeing in ourselves and healthy relationships with others. Reflecting on the Buddha’s teachings on “The Bonds of Fellowship” is one wa...
Gun Violence, Trauma, and Wholeness
January 29, 2023 12:00 - 19 minutes - 15 MBLast weekend, we carried an awareness of the grieving communities in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, California. Then, on Monday, two high school students were shot and killed at a charter school in Des Moines, Iowa in an apparent feud between rival gangs. Three days, three shootings, three settings: community dance center, workplace, and school. As a nation, we hold space, tending these open wounds, these seemingly unending cycles of violence. And we are back to that question: What is it a...