Mountaintop Experiences

ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life
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Summary of December 22, 2013
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Dear Folks -
I began the talk I offered this week in Ordinary Life by recalling some of the history of St. Paul’s Church. Thirty years ago the church was virtually dying. Now it is one of the most vibrant and vital churches around. How did this happen?

The point in recalling this history is to say that the mountain top experiences we currently enjoy did not come easily. They came as the result of work and risk. Decisions were made that were, to some, upsetting.

This leads into how vital it is to correctly understand, in this case, the birth stories of Jesus. One assumption I make is that a misunderstood Jesus leads to a misunderstanding of God. We live in a culture that either trivializes or makes cozy the birth stories. Taken in context they are treasonous.

We have a choice, and it is one we have to make constantly, to experience “peace on earth” through ways that almost always lead to violence or to follow the “prince of peace” and seek to honor our relationship to Sacred Mystery through treating others as we ourselves would like to be treated.

I called the talk -

Mountaintop Experiences

To read the complete text click here.

To view the presentation slides click here.

 

 

Much love,

 

Bill Kerley