Words of Welcome

  Eph esians 5:8-14 You may have heard the phrase “It has come to light.” That phrase often suggests that you are about to hear bad news. Whether it is a matter of moral or criminal behavior, you never want to hear those words. That is especially true if you’ve had some dealings with Jeffrey Epstein. If you’re in his files or visited his island, you might be in trouble. Look at what happened to the guy formerly known as Prince Andrew. Not only did he lose his title and place in the line of succession, but he was arrested for making the monarchy look bad. So, when the light shines in the darkness, it usually brings to light the bad things done under the cover of darkness.  Our reading for the Fourth Sunday of Lent from Ephesians 5 talks about leaving behind darkness and walking in the light. This letter addresses a number of practical questions about what it means to live the Christian life in the context of a pagan culture, which embraced ethical and moral conduct that dif...

  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...

    Woman of the Apocalypse (Hortus deliciarum) Revelation 12:7-17 It’s Perry Gresham Weekend once again. Yesterday, we heard a word from Richard Beck that reminded us that “ We Wrestle Not Against Flesh and Blood, ” but rather against the powers and principalities of this present darkness. This morning, I return to this pulpit for the first time since I retired more than four years ago. Zach commissioned me to continue the conversation that Richard started yesterday. With that in mind, I chose the reading from Revelation 12.  We don’t often hear from John of Patmos in our mainline churches, especially if the preacher draws sermon texts from the lectionary, which has been my practice over the years. Nevertheless, I believe that John has an important word to share with us this morning.  Here is John’s word:  And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and th...

  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...

  Ephesians 4:25-5:2 We return this morning to the letter to the Ephesian church. Earlier we heard the author, whether it’s Paul or someone else, talk about Jesus tearing down the walls of hostility. Then we heard him call on the Ephesians to “lead a life worthy of our calling” and to “make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” This morning Paul calls on the Ephesians to imitate God by walking “in love, as Christ has loved us.”  The messages we’ve been hearing focus on what it means to be a follower of Jesus. First and foremost, that means walking in love, which involves our behavior. Last week we heard Paul call on us to live our lives “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.” In speaking of these virtues, we see parallels with the fruit of the Spirit that Paul speaks of in the Galatian letter. According to Paul, the fruit of the Spirit includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, ...

  Ephesians 4:1-16 In our last encounter with the letter to the Ephesians, we heard the author, who I’ll call Paul for the rest of the sermon despite questions about his authorship, speak about Jesus tearing down the dividing walls of hostility. While there are many kinds of dividing walls in our world, I believe Jesus has called and gifted us to participate with him in tearing down these dividing walls.  Here in Ephesians 4, Paul begs us to maintain the “unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” As we seek to maintain this unity, he speaks of the gifts of grace God pours out on the church that help equip us for ministry in the church and the world.   We begin this morning with a call to the Ephesians to “walk in a manner worthy of their calling.” They will fulfill this calling by living lives of humility, gentleness, patience, and love. That same calling has been given to us so that when we embody these virtues, we can “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the...

  Ephesians 2:11-22 Many of us will remember Ronald Reagan’s visit to West Berlin in 1987, during which he famously declared: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” While Mr. Gorbachev didn’t tear down the wall, it wasn’t long before the people of Berlin tore it down. Two years later, as the world watched on live TV, the people of East and West Berlin mounted the Berlin Wall and began tearing it down. For once, the East German police, who routinely shot people trying to escape across the wall, didn’t step in to stop it. Before long what had been two nations for four decades was once again united. I remember sitting glued to the TV watching the report, amazed at what was happening. At least for a moment, the world tingled with hope that this was a day of new beginnings for world history. We hoped for a moment that peace would come to a divided world. Things haven’t turned out as many of us hoped, but that image of a wall of hostility falling has stayed with me. What many of us di...