Words of Welcome

  Luke 12:32-40 Do you worry about what’s going on in the world and how it affects your life? Are you concerned about your security and safety? Do you make sure your doors to your home and cars are locked? Do you have a Ring camera so you can see who is at the front door?  While we might be concerned about such things, Jesus doesn’t seem to share our concerns. Here in Luke 12, Jesus tells his followers not to be afraid because God is going to give the kingdom to them. If we step back a few verses, we hear Jesus tell his followers not to worry about life because worrying won’t add even a single hour to their lifespan (Luke 12:22-31 ). Perhaps the reason Jesus warned against worrying about life is that he advocated living a very simple life. The problem with this warning is that my lifestyle is much too complicated. I have accumulated way too much stuff, which can cause anxiety. Now, some things are essential to living a good life; things like my books. I can’t live withou...

  Colossians 3:1-14 Mark Twain famously said that “Clothes make the man.” Even in this more casual era, clothes still stand for something. There are times when we need to purchase a new set of clothes. It could be that our old clothes no longer fit, or we’re attending a big event that requires a clothing upgrade. After all, we don’t want to be underdressed! In his Colossian letter, Paul speaks of stripping off the old self and clothing ourselves with the new self. He directs this word to people who exchanged their old pagan ways for a new life in Christ through baptism. At least as early as the second century, baptisms took place after a lengthy period of instruction. Then on the day baptisms took place, the candidates would strip off their old clothes before entering the baptismal. When they came out the other side, they received a new set of clothes to symbolize their new life in Christ. This exchange of old clothes for a new set represents the change of lifestyle that ac...

  Galatians 6:1-16 When Paul wrote his letter to the Galatian church early in his ministry, he was trying to bring Gentiles into a community rooted in Judaism. One of the defining elements of Jewish identity was circumcision. Some of the Jewish members of the community argued that Gentiles should be circumcised before entering the church. Since this was a stumbling block to Gentiles, who wished to enter the community, Paul argued that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision mattered because “the new creation is everything.” Since the new creation is rooted in God’s grace, this physical marker was unnecessary. The sixth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians offers a summary of previous topics, while I’m tempted to cover all of them, I promise not to do so. This chapter in Paul’s Galatian letter follows his discussion of the fruit of the Spirit. He closes chapter 5 by telling the Galatians: “If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit. Let’s not become arrogant, make ea...

  Romans 5:1-5 According to the liturgical calendar, today is Trinity Sunday. On a Sunday like this, we get to reflect on who God is. As history has proven, finding an answer to the question “who is God” has proven difficult. The Creeds define God as being one in substance but at the same time three persons. The first verse of our opening hymn declares:  Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning  our song shall rise to thee. Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and Mighty! God in three persons, blessed Trinity! At least since the fourth century, the majority of Christians have affirmed that definition of God’s nature, even if we still struggle to make sense of our confession. So, if you don’t completely understand the ins and outs of the Trinity, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Nevertheless, together with the majority of Christians throughout history, we proclaim that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This morning, we have heard a reading from the...

Romans 8:14-17 It is written that on the Day of Pentecost, the streets of Jerusalem were filled with pilgrims celebrating one of Judaism’s most important festivals. At the same time, one hundred and fifty of Jesus’ closest followers gathered for prayer in an upper room in that very same city. This gathering took place just ten days after Jesus departed from his disciples. At that time, Jesus commissioned his disciples to take the gospel message to the ends of the earth. However, they would need to wait until the Holy Spirit came upon them ( Acts 1:8 ). This promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit swept through the upper room like a mighty wind and rested on each of them like a flame of fire. Then the Spirit empowered them to preach the Gospel in the diverse languages of the people gathered in Jerusalem ( Acts 2 ). With the coming of the Spirit, the church’s missional calling went into action.  This morning, I decided to set aside the reading from Acts...

  A uftraggeber: Otto III. oder Heinrich II. –  Bamberger Apokalypse  Folio 13 verso, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, MS A. II. 42, Public Domain, Revelation 5:11-14 The Book of Revelation represents what is known as apocalyptic literature. The word Apocalypse, in the biblical sense, speaks of an unveiling or revelation of something sacred or divine. The Book of Revelation, which is filled with rather strange imagery that is difficult to decode, requires us to use our holy imaginations. If we do this, then perhaps we can begin to unpack the imagery we find here in chapter 5 of the Book of Revelation. Chapters 4 and 5 depict a heavenly worship service. Here in Chapter 5, the focus is on the Slaughtered Lamb.  The author of the Book of Revelation is a man named John of Patmos. He writes a letter to a group of churches in what is now Turkey. These churches were struggling to navigate significant challenges. They faced persecution and even martyrdom. John writes this lett...

  “ My Lord and My God!” Painting by: Ronald Raab, CSC 2018 John 20:19-31 On Easter Sunday, we proclaim that Christ the Lord has risen from the dead. In the Gospel of John, Jesus first appears to Mary Magdalene and then sends her to share the good news with the rest of the community that he had risen from the dead. So ends part one of the story (John 20:1-18 ). And, as Paul Harvey used to say, now for the rest of the story. In today’s reading from the Gospel of John, it’s Easter evening, and Jesus’ followers are hiding out behind closed doors, even though Mary had shared with them the news of the resurrection. John tells us that they were afraid of the authorities. Besides, even though they knew that the tomb was empty and they had Mary’s report, it appears they needed more proof that Jesus was truly alive.  All of a sudden, Jesus appeared in their midst. Can you imagine what they were thinking at that moment? What would you have been thinking? After all, they locked the...