Mark 1:9-15 Wilderness, in the Bible, is a vast, empty space where life is harsh if not impossible. We may think of wilderness where Lewis and Clark trekked, across forest, river and mountains of space with little human contact. But the Sinai is more empty, bleak, with almost no visual changes to draw the … Continue reading Facing Yourself in a Faceless World
This text was in my mind while watching news from Ferguson, and a young protestor was asked what his agenda was, and he said it was for racial justice and they were going to “shake the heavens.” I don’t know if he knew the lectionary readings for the first Sunday of Advent, Year B, but … Continue reading “Tear Open the Heavens”
A wedding invitation arrives in the mail. You are cordially invited to your second cousin’s once removed daughter’s wedding…in Toledo. Travel is expensive these days, and you are busy, so you send your regrets and a card wishing them a long and happy marriage, still wondering exactly how you are related. Now imagine the next … Continue reading A Failure to Party
For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” I love this text. I was excited to see it as the featured Gospel for Gathering Sunday, because today as we gather ourselves for a new beginning of the Fall Church Season; we hear the good news!-Christ is among us today! We missed out on meeting the real Jesus, hearing him preach and shaking hands with him at coffee hour, liking his stuff on Facebook. We were born too late. But don’t despair, because when we meet in his name, his spirit is here and we know him. So we are gathered, Jesus is alive among us-NOW WHAT?
Sermon for September 14, 2014 @ First Churches The story opens with Peter’s question about how many times you should forgive a person. He is wondering if there is a time when forgiveness becomes absurd because someone keeps on hurting us. I imagine most of us have someone in our lives that is very difficult … Continue reading How Many Times? Matthew 18: 21-35
Michael Moore and Bill Maher are still missing the point. Many of us are both liberals AND Christians or Jews or Muslims. We do take on the extremists in our sermons, and feed and house the homeless, fight for GLBTQ people, and yet Bill continues to paint all of us with the same brush. Maher's … Continue reading Bill Maher and Michael Moore just don’t get progressive religion…
Life is so unfair! It starts the day we are born. One baby is born a girl in Lahore, Pakistan and another a boy in Palo Alto, CA. You already have in mind a picture of their destiny. Life gets more unfair as soon as your next sibling is born. We are hard wired to … Continue reading “The Gratitude Economy” Matthew 20:1-16, Exodus 16:2-15
uk.reuters.com - Page by Jeffrey Heller - A Palestinian woman runs carrying a girl following what police said was an Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza city July 9, 2014. I am still debating my choices of scriptures to preach this week-the Gospel lesson about the Canaanite woman, Isaiah and the covenant extending … Continue reading Preaching for Sunday, August 17
If you are looking for a late sermon illustration on Saturday, listen to Billy Joel's song "The Stranger" and think about in terms of Jacob's wrestling with a stranger. I only had a minor spot in my sermon for it. Let me know what you think about the about the connections. Below I have posted … Continue reading Genesis 32 “Wrestling with the Stranger”
John 20:22 "When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Just breath, folks!
With all my soul 