Words of Welcome

  2 Corinthians 13:11-13 Today is Trinity Sunday. It may not be as exciting as Pentecost Sunday, but it’s a good time to stop and think about the God we serve and worship. Most Christian traditions affirm the idea that God is both one and yet three. This may sound like some kind of math problem, but thankfully, especially since I’m not a math person, this isn’t about math. It just means that, like our Jewish siblings, we believe that God is one. However, Christianity complicates things by suggesting that God is also three persons. So, we sing: “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!” (Reginald Heber).     The doctrine of the Trinity that we celebrate this morning is only present in the New Testament implicitly. It took several centuries before early Christians nailed down a consensus view of God as Trinity. The Nicene Creed, which we will ...

    Mark 9:30-37 Muhammad Ali famously claimed he was the greatest. He said, “It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am.” Now, Ali was a showman and that was part of his act. Politicians have been known to say something similar. You might hear them claim that only they can fix what’s wrong with our society. If you vote for someone else, the world might come to an end. Apparently, this messaging works because politicians keep making the claims, and people keep voting for them.  While people keep claiming greatness, I’m not sure God is impressed with these claims. Consider for a moment this word from the Wisdom of Solomon: “For the Lord of all will not stand in awe of anyone or show deference to greatness, because he himself made both small and great, and he takes thought for all alike.” ( Wisdom of Solomon 6:7 ). This morning we once again hear Jesus define his messianic calling in terms of his suffering and death, followed by his resurrection. His disciple...

Mark 9:30-37 When Christmas Eve rolls around we celebrate the coming of the Christ child into the world. Some of the carols we sing that night and throughout the season seem a bit sentimental. Consider the opening verse of Away in a Manger:   Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head. The stars in the sky looked down where he lay, the little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay. It’s a comforting picture, but does it reflect Jesus’ own reality? 

Acts 9:36-43 This has been a week marked by images of death. It’s not the sort of week that we associate with the Easter season, and it at least changed the context for this sermon.  Our continuing celebration of the Resurrection has been interrupted by the deadly explosions at the Boston Marathon and at a fertilizer plant that devastated a small Texas town.  Four people died in the first event, and at least fourteen in the second. Events like this week’s two tragedies catch our attention.  We can become engrossed in the stories, which were told and retold countless times during the week.  Friday morning began with news of the death of one suspect in the Boston bombing, and ended the day with the capture of the other.  But what message did we take from these events and others that occurred in the past week?  These events are close to home, so we pay attention.  What about those who died in China in a deadly earthquake on Friday? ...

Luke 24:1-12 Are you looking for the Lord?  Then, “why do you look for the living among the dead?”  Does the story of Jesus end with Good Friday, or is there another chapter to the story? On that first Easter morning, five women went to the Tomb expecting to find a body.  They brought ointments and spices to finish the burial process, which was interrupted by the coming of the Sabbath.  It would seem that for the disciples hope died with Jesus.  The women weren’t looking for the living among the dead.  They were looking for their now dead teacher.  Hope had given way to despair.  All that remained to do was finish the burial process.   Resurrection wasn’t on their mind when they arrived at the Empty Tomb. The message delivered by the two men who greeted them at the Tomb jogged their memory, but I don’t think they were prepared to truly understand what had occurred.  They may have remembered the words of Jesus, but I ...