Words of Welcome

Psalm 130 Do you feel like crying out to God in this moment of uncertainty?  Do you feel like you are living in the depths of life? Spring may be breaking through the winter blues, but it’s difficult to enjoy the coming of spring when we’re supposed to stay home and stay safe. This morning we turn to Psalm 130 , which begins with a word of lament and ends with a word of hope. The Psalmist begins:  “Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord.” Then along with the Psalmist, we plead with God, “Lord, hear my voice!” It’s at times like this that I appreciate the Psalms, which give voice to our laments. They remind us that it’s okay to grieve our losses, even if they’re momentary. As William Blaine-Wallace writes, “grief is prayerful attention, an awareness, acknowledgment, and embrace of life-the-way-it-really-is” [Blaine-Wallace, When Tears Sing , xxiv.]. This is the way life is right now. We’re watching as the Coronavirus marches across the globe. We watch as Southeast

Psalm 23 On any normal Sunday, we would open the doors of the church and welcome the world into our midst. We would sing and pray. We would gather at the Table and share together the bread of life and the cup of salvation. That would be a normal Sunday, but these aren’t normal times. We are in the midst of a pandemic, so we’re finding other ways of communicating until we can regather in person.  It’s times like this, when we’re feeling alone, anxious, and fearful that we often turn to the Twenty-third Psalm for comfort and encouragement. I read Psalm 23 from the King James Version this morning because it seems to fit this moment. The rhythm and the wording speak to our hearts, reminding us that the “Lord is our shepherd.” Therefore, we “shall not want.” Like a good shepherd, God leads us to green pastures and still waters. God provides us with such abundance that we can live in hope even in the most difficult of moments.  The Hundredth Psalm reinforces the mess

Romans 5:1-11 You may have seen those “Keep Calm” posters. You may even have one in your house. You know the ones that say “Keep Calm and Carry On!” Or, it might be one of many variations on that theme. But, what do you do when life is anything but calm? We are experiencing just such a moment. We face a Coronavirus or more specifically a COVID-19 pandemic that has unknown consequences for us. We don’t know its full extent because there aren’t yet enough tests to go around and a vaccine for the virus is probably months away. Even if the virus appears to go away when summer arrives, it might come back next winter. Hopefully, there’ll be a vaccine by then, but we don’t know for sure. So, in the meantime we wait, trying to find a way forward.  This uncertainty about our situation is wreaking havoc on our society. The stock market crashed into bear territory, leaving many ordinary people wondering about their financial well-being. Universities are moving classes on-li

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 We started our Lenten journey with a word from Paul about sin. Is it a nature problem or nurture problem? St. Augustine voted for nature, while John Locke advocated for nurture. As for me, I tend to go with Locke, but whichever way we go, sin is a problem.  The way toward the healing of sin’s impact begins with the confession of sin. This week we take a step back the chapter 4 in Paul’s letter to Romans, where the faith of Abraham enters the conversation. According to Genesis and Paul, Abraham believed God’s promise that the nations would be blessed through his descendants, and God credited this as righteousness. Therefore, Abraham was justified before God by faith and not by works. In Paul’s mind, the same is true for everyone who shares in the faith of Abraham. When we read Scripture, it’s good to remember that we live in a very different context than the biblical authors, including Paul. That means Paul may have a different set of concerns tha

Romans 5:12-19 Lent is a season of reflection. It invites us to look inward, so we can take stock of our lives. We can ask questions like: Who am I in relationship to God? And, am I on the right path or have I strayed from it? If I’m going the wrong way, how do I get back on track? All of these questions are connected to the way we understand Sin and Death, as well as Grace and Righteousness.  The lectionary readings from the Gospel of Matthew and Genesis tell temptation stories.  In Matthew, Jesus goes into the Wilderness where Satan offers him power, glory, and comfort in exchange for allegiance. In the reading from Genesis, Adam and Eve take the bait and eat the forbidden fruit, which leads to their exile from the Garden. In our reading this morning from Romans 5, we start in the Garden, where the first Adam’s act of disobedience opens the way for death to enter human reality, but we end with a word about the Last Adam, whose obedience provides abundant grace and lif