https://joelssermons.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/20200119sermon.mp3
The first half of the audio is a historical reading of Mennonite Central Committee, and three members briefly telling of the MCC service experiences. The sermon begins around the 17 minute mark.
Text: 2 Corinthians 5:18-20
Back in 2004, I had the opportunity to attend the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions in Barcelona, Spain. Along with being happy to just be there, I was especially interested in how these different philosophies and religions would find common ground. I attended seminars with titles like: “Middle East stories: The significance of the Holy Land in our Sacred Texts,” “A Buddhist-Christian dialogue on responses to environmental violence,” “Interreligious dialogue and non-negotiable dogmas.” In between seminars there was plenty of time for random conversations with whoever I found sitting or walking next to me, most of them not Christian or American.
One of the things I remember most, now 16 years later, had nothing to do with theological dialogue. It related to something we all had in common: We all had to eat. There were plenty of options. One of them was in a large tent by the conference center. Every day of the Parliament members of the Sikh...