Words of Welcome

  Luke 13:1-9 This morning we’ve heard the prophet known as Second Isaiah invite us to “seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.”  As we seek the Lord, Isaiah calls on us to forsake wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts and return to God who will have mercy on us  ( Isa. 55:6-7 ).  This word from Second Isaiah is an appropriate one for today because the Lenten season invites us to look inward so we can discern where we fall short of God’s expectations for our lives. You might call this a time of testing that involves repentance and an offer of divine pardon. The reading from Second Isaiah goes well with the reading from the Gospel of Luke, which also speaks of sin and repentance. Here in Luke’s Gospel Jesus responds to news that Pontius Pilate had a group of Galilean pilgrims murdered who had gone to the Temple to offer sacrifices. Jesus asked the people who brought this news whether this group of Galileans were greater sinners than o...

  Gustav Dore, Jesus in the Wilderness Luke 4:1-13 The Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday, which reminds us that we begin as dust and to dust we will return. The Gospel reading for the First Sunday of Lent takes us into the wilderness, where Jesus undergoes a series of tests given to him by the devil. This wilderness ordeal takes place immediately after Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan. According to Luke, after his baptism, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, who then led him into the wilderness. While he was in the Wilderness, Jesus fasted for forty days and nights, after which he was tempted by the devil. The forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness form the basis of our Lenten season, whether or not we join Jesus in his fast.  Over the centuries many have followed Jesus into the desert, hoping to purge themselves of spiritual distractions and sin. Desert fathers like St. Anthony went into the desert and practiced extreme forms of asceticism. According to their testimo...

  Luke 4:16-30 It is said that you can never go home again once you leave. There is a lot of truth to this adage, especially if you leave small towns and cities like the ones I grew up in and head to the big city. Most of my hometown friends who headed off to college didn’t return. While we enjoyed growing up in our hometown, college seemed to change us. Now, I don’t know if Jesus went off to college, but it appears something similar happened to him after he reached adulthood.  According to Luke’s Gospel, Jesus began his ministry at the age of thirty ( Luke 3:21-23 ). We don’t know what happened to Jesus between the age of twelve when the family returned to Nazareth after a visit to Jerusalem and the age of thirty when he began his ministry in Galilee except that he “increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine favor” ( Luke 2:52 ). People have tried to fill in the blanks with trips to India and England, or time spent with a Jewish monastic group called the Essenes. It’...

  Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Parents tend to be proud of their children, at least most of the time. We celebrate the big moments in their lives. It can be an award ceremony or a graduation. Cheryl and I would watch with amazement at Brett’s precision marching during half-time shows while playing his tenor sax. Of course, when he graduated from college, we were again tearfully proud. That’s what parents do. According to Luke, God can be a proud parent as well. Today is Baptism of Jesus Sunday, and this morning’s scripture readings speak of parental pride. In Isaiah 43, God says to Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you: I have called you by name, you are mine” ( Isa 43:1 ). I hear in that message a bit of parental pride, especially since a few verses later, God tells the people of Israel they are loved and precious in God’s sight. God says something similar in Luke’s version of Jesus’ baptism.   On this second Sunday of the new year, we celebrate Jesus’ baptism. Whil...