Westmoreland Sermon Archive

May 16, 2010
Psalm 42
Rev. Rich Smith

Forty-five years ago this week the Rolling Stones recorded what was soon to be their first number one hit record, a song that to this day quickens the pulse of baby boomers and still drives English teachers crazy! (You know what I’m talking about!) It just wouldn’t have worked if it had gone “I can’t get any satisfaction…” No, with its double negative, its counter-cultural critique of consumerism, and that fuzzy three note guitar riff, it is oddly satisfying! (It wasn’t at first, not for everyone – it made the network execs nervous. The song was heavily censored when they first performed it on the Ed Sullivan Show. But in 2006, they sang it at the Super Bowl, on live TV, exactly as they had first recorded it. Satisfaction, indeed!)

These days most businesses seem very concerned that we get our satisfaction, and you can hardly eat at a restaurant, or buy a product, or even talk to tech support without being given the opportunity to respond to a customer satisfaction survey. I often make restaurant reservations on line using a website called “Open Table” and the very next day I get an email, “How was your lunch at Chef Geoff’s?” The check comes after the meal, and at the bottom there is an invitation to go online, fill out a survey, and enter a sweepstakes. My bank called the other evening wanting me to rate services at the local branch. Unfortunately I had a few things to tell them! I called my internet service provider about a problem, and shortly thereafter received an online survey. I started to fill it out and when I began indicating some dissatisfaction with the service they provided, in that they completely failed to solve my problem, the screen mysteriously went blank!
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May 9, 2010
Acts 16:9-15
Rev. Rich Smith

In the early years of our marriage, we frequently went camping. It was practically free, and sleeping on the ground wasn’t too uncomfortable. As we’ve aged, we been able to afford better accommodations, and the ground gets harder and harder, in spite of more natural padding. After a few years, we generally stayed at cheap motels while traveling. And then, after a few more years, we began staying at a nicer places. But now, we have found that our preference while traveling is to seek out quaint little Bed and Breakfasts. They are not as impersonal as a hotel or motel, usually no more expensive, and the hospitality is almost always much better. Some better than others – breakfast can be anything from “help yourself to a sweet roll” to 4 course candlelight, made to order; some hosts smother you with attention, others ignore you. But in general, we have come to appreciate the kind of hospitality offered at B&B’s. It can be like staying with friends or family or maybe better — they make us feel welcome!

Our scripture lesson for today tells of the time the Apostle Paul and his companions were invited into a sort of Bed and Breakfast in the Greek town of Phillipi. They were out on a missionary journey, spreading the Gospel, when they had a change of plans. They responded to a vision, to go to Macedonia. After several days in Philippi, it was the Sabbath and so they went “down to the river to pray,” and there they encountered a group of mostly Jewish women, also praying. Among them was a Gentile named Lydia, who was on a spiritual quest and who, apparently, was a very successful business woman. She traded in a specific kind of dyed purple goods, a luxury item, and was quite affluent. Never one to pass up the possibilities presented by a good congregation, Paul preached to these women who had gathered by the river and as a result Lydia became a Christian. She was baptized, and not only her, but all the members of her household. She invited Paul and company to accept her hospitality, saying, “If you really accept me as a true believer, come and stay with us in our house.” And, as one contemporary translation puts it, “she would not take no for an answer.” Later, she became one of the founders and pillars of the Philippian church, which presumably didn’t have to meet by the river anymore.
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May 2, 2010 – Jazz Sunday –
Acts 11:1-18
Rev. Rich Smith

We’ve just done a very dangerous thing! In that hymn we just sang, imploring the Spirit of the Living God to fall afresh on us, we have done a dangerous thing. Because when the Spirit does fall, and fills us, molds us, uses us, it can be dangerous! Are we sure we want that to happen? After all, the Spirit led Jesus, after his baptism, into the wilderness, and set the course for his life. Led by the Spirit he went to his home town and preached his first sermon. That went over so well he was almost thrown over a cliff! The Spirit then led him to call disciples, and touch the untouchable, and teach a subversive message, and eventually to go to Jerusalem and the cross. The Spirit fell upon Paul, and sent him in a new direction, more than once, which led to all kinds of personal hardships, including shipwreck, imprisonment, and probably execution. In today’s lesson, the Spirit falls upon Peter, and the immediate result is that he gets in trouble with the church authorities. He asked forgiveness, not permission. It’s too late to take back the singing of the hymn, but do we really want the Spirit to fall fresh on us?

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