Words of Welcome

  “ 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...

John 6:56-69 Has a preacher ever said something that offended you? Did you decide never to go back to that church? I expect we’ve all been there at least once in our lives. Since I’m the guest preacher this morning, I’ll do my best not to offend you. I don’t want to get Pastor Alex in trouble for inviting me here to preach this morning.  While I’ll do my best not to offend you, could Jesus say something that might offend you? Have you ever run into something that Jesus is recorded as saying that shocked you?  As we read the Gospels, it quickly becomes clear that Jesus had a tendency to step on toes and push people’s buttons. On one occasion, according to Luke, Jesus visited his hometown of Nazareth. Since they had heard he was something of a preacher and healer, they invited him to say a few words in their synagogue. That didn’t go well. By the end of the service, the home folks tried to throw him off a cliff. Fortunately, Jesus escaped and headed off to a friendlier ven...

Luke 7:1-10 What is faith? Is it assent to a set of beliefs? Or, is it putting your trust in someone else? We don’t recite The Apostles Creed very often, but it’s a standard Christian confession of faith. It begins with the words: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.” It goes on from there to speak more fully of Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection, as well as his ascension and his partnership with the Father in judging the world. There’s also a brief mention of the Holy Spirit and then statements about the holy, catholic church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. While we Disciples may have set aside the creeds in the name of unity, this creed does raise the question: what do I believe and why? Is belief the same as faith?  As we approach the reading from Luke, the question is twofold: What did the Roman Centurion know and believe, and why was Jesus amazed at h...

John 3:14-21 The cover of the February 23rd issue of  Time Magazine  declares: “This Baby Could Live to be 142 Years Old.”  Doesn’t that sound wonderful? So what’s the secret? It all depends on whom you ask, and the articles in that issue offer some tips for living well past one hundred. Of course, living that long poses interesting complications. As Laura Carstensen writes:    The challenge we face today is converting a world built quite literally by and for the young into a world that supports and engages populations that live to 100 and beyond.  [ Time,  69-70]  I’ve been taking a rather unscientific poll since the article came out, and I’m not hearing a lot of excitement about living that long. We may want to live long lives, but maybe not that long. 

John 6:24-35 We live in an entertainment age, where it’s often  difficult to tell what is real and what’s an illusion.  We can be mesmerized by glitz and glamor, and find ourselves listening intently as celebrities tell us what we should wear, eat, how we should vote and what we should believe.  In such an atmosphere, it shouldn’t surprise us that we sometimes mix entertainment with faith.  But, this isn’t new.  Anglican revivalist George Whitefield supposedly made  people weep simply by pronouncing the word “Mesopotamia.”   In the 19th century revivalists drew great crowds to hear them preach, while hundreds  gathered to hear Alexander Campbell debate his religious rivals on topics that ranged from socialism to baptism.  More recently Aimee Semple McPherson rivaled her Hollywood neighbors with her spectacles, while Robert Schuller’s grand productions – at least until the Crystal Cathedral fell into bankruptcy -- drew thousands. ...