Words of Welcome

  Maximino Cerezo Barredo (Spanish, 1932–), “In the Breaking of Bread,” 2001.  Luke 24:13-35      On Easter Sunday, we heard John’s story of Jesus’ resurrection appearance to Mary Magdalene (John 20:1-18) . This morning, we heard Luke’s account of Jesus’ appearance to two of his followers, one of whom was named Cleopas. Luke tells us that the two disciples were traveling to a place called Emmaus. As they walked along the road to Emmaus, they discussed the events that took place over the weekend, including reports that some of the women in their group had encountered angels at Jesus’ tomb who told them that Jesus had risen from the dead, as well as the report of others in their group that the tomb was empty ( Luke 24:1-12 ). Despite these reports, these two disciples had chosen to head out of town toward a place called Emmaus. Although Luke tells us they were going to Emmaus, some seven miles from Jerusalem, you won’t find a place by that name on any map. So,...

  Edwards Hickes, Peacable Kingdom Romans 15:4-13 This morning, we lit the Candle of Peace, which reminds us that this is not only the Second Sunday of Advent, it is Peace Sunday. Peace is something we all hope for, but which always seems beyond our grasp. World War I was supposed to be the war that ended all wars. Twenty years later, an even bigger war took place. This year, Peace Sunday falls on December 7th, the day Franklin Roosevelt declared would live in infamy. Having visited the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor on two occasions, I felt the presence of those lives lost that day. But that war didn’t bring an end to human wars. Many more were to come. There were wars in Korea and then Vietnam. I remember in the 1990s, after the fall of the Soviet Union, there was talk of a peace dividend for the American defense budget. But that talk didn’t last long because war came to the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq. For nearly four years, we’ve watched the Russians devastate Ukraine, h...

  Genesis 12:1-4 The words bless, blessed, and blessing, appear regularly in the Bible. Jesus offers nine blessings to begin the Sermon on the Mount ( Mt 5:1-12 ). We find many words of blessing filling the Psalms. The same is true of the Book of Genesis. In the first chapter of Genesis, we read that God blessed God’s human creation and then told them: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” ( Gen. 1:28 ). This morning in our reading from Genesis 12 we hear God make a covenant of blessings with Abram, better known to us as Abraham. God tells Abram to pack up the family and head off to an unknown land. If Abram does this, God promises to bless him and make him a blessing to all the families of the earth. The promise of blessings sounds good, but on the flip side, this promise involves quite a bit of risk on Abram’s part. Nevertheless, ...

  Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 The Covenant-making God invited Abraham and his family to take a journey to an unknown land. God promised to bless Abraham, make his name great, and bless the nations through him and his descendants. God made this promise even though Abraham and Sarah were rather old and still didn’t have any children of their own ( Gen. 12:1-4 ).  Abraham’s story is a complicated one. It almost seems like a soap opera at times, but Abraham set out on the journey and God remained present throughout all the twists and turns of this journey. So, when Abram turned ninety-nine years old, God said to Abraham: “I am God Almighty, walk before me, and be blameless.” That is, “Live as if you were always in my presence.” [ Goldingay, Genesi s, 277 ]. When God made a covenant with Abram in Genesis 17, God promised to make his descendants “exceedingly numerous.” To symbolize this promise, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “ancestor of a multitude.” God also promi...

Marc Chagall, Hagar in the Desert Genesis 21:8-21 Today’s reading from Genesis 21 is fitting since Father’s Day is coinciding with World Refugee Sunday. The lead characters in this story include a father—Abraham—two mothers—Sarah and Hagar—and two sons—Ishmael and Isaac. In this story, Abraham sends his firstborn son, Ishmael, along with his mother Hagar into the wilderness, because Sarah doesn’t want Ishmael to share in the inheritance she believes belongs to her son, Isaac. This story is complicated because Ishmael’s mother Hagar was Sarah’s slave, who became Sarah’s surrogate until Sarah had a child of her own. That’s when Sarah decided that Hagar and Ishmael had to go. When Abraham reluctantly agreed to Sarah’s demands, Hagar and Ishmael were sent into the wilderness as refugees. When their water ran out, Hagar hid Ishmael in the bushes and then sat down and wept, while Ishmael cried.   Christian tradition tends to focus on Sarah and Isaac, while ignorin...

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...

Hebrews 5:1-10 There were Greeks who came to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. They went up to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and they said to him: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” ( Jn. 12:20-21 ). As we continue our Lenten Journey, with Palm Sunday on the near horizon, is this not our request as well? Don’t we wish to see Jesus? The author of Hebrews introduces us to Jesus in the form of the great high priest who sympathizes with us in every respect. Hebrews tells us that Jesus has been tested as we have in all things, but is without sin ( Heb. 4:14-15 ). Priests serve as mediators between God and God’s people, bringing sacrifices, prayers, and supplications to God on our behalf. No one takes up this responsibility unless God issues a call, as God did with Aaron and Aaron’s descendants.  God called Jesus to be our high priest, but he isn’t a descendant of Aaron, which makes him a different kind of high priest. According to Hebrews, he is a priest accord...

Matthew 1:1-17 On Christmas Eve we watched as four generations of one family gathered to light the Christ candle. What a wonderful sight it was, because it doesn’t happen all that often.  In fact, largely due to the mobility of our society, our opportunities to gather across the generations has become increasingly difficult.  One of the few places where multiple generations do gather on a regular basis is at church, even if these multiple generations aren’t part of one specific family.    This morning’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew is known for its “begats,” because that’s the word the King James Version uses to count off the forty-two generations of Jesus ancestry, stretching from Abraham to David, from David to the Exile, and finally from the exile to the Christ child.  While some of the persons named in this passage are familiar, most are not. When we read a passage of scripture like this one, our eyes can begin to glaze over and our min...