Words of Welcome

  Luke 24:44-53 We’re not a patient society. Whether it’s waiting in line at the gas station, grocery store, or TSA, we want to get in and out quickly. Or consider that childhood moment when school is about to let out for summer vacation. It’s hard to be patient when all you can think about are your summertime activities. Every step of the way in life, we face moments when we have to patiently wait for what comes next.   This morning we find ourselves in the closing verses of the Gospel of Luke. In this story, Jesus is about to take his leave from his followers. So, after Jesus shares one last meal with the disciples, he opens the Scriptures and shares how they spoke of his death and resurrection. When he finished with this Bible Study, he commissioned them to proclaim a message of repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name to all nations beginning in Jerusalem. I found the First Nations Version of this commission revealing. It was foretold that, beginning in th...

  Philippians 4:4-9 We’ve finally lit the pink candle. People often wonder why the Advent wreath has a pink candle. They also want to know when to light it, especially if they are tasked with lighting the candles. Well, here’s the reason why we have a pink candle and light it on the Third Sunday of Advent. It’s pink and we light it on the Third Sunday of Advent because today is, according to tradition, Joy Sunday. Although we’re following a more recent tradition and using blue, the usual color scheme for Advent is purple. Purple is considered to be a more solemn color. That’s why we use it during Lent. Both Advent and Lent are supposed to be seasons of reflection and repentance in preparation for a major liturgical event. If that’s true, it seems appropriate to use a softer color on Joy Sunday. After all, how can you be somber on a day when you hear Paul call on us to “rejoice in the Lord always?” Although Paul is sitting in a prison cell and has every reason to be bitter and a...

Young Clergy Man Reading 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 We come together to worship on the eve of an election. I know many of us are anxious about the outcome and the aftermath of this election. All I can say is, if you’ve not voted, drop off any absentee ballots at your clerk’s office or go vote on Tuesday. Then pray hard! We also gather on All Saints Day to remember and honor all God’s saints, “who from their labors rest.” The word we hear from Paul and his companions to the church in Thessalonika is the oldest document in the New Testament. This is about as close as we get to the very beginnings of the Christian story, which continues to unfold into our day. This community lived with a great deal of anxiety. Part of this anxiety was rooted in their expectation that Jesus was going to return any minute. With this expectation came questions about those who had died. Would they get caught up with Jesus when he returned? I don’t think we experience the same kind of anxiety as the Thessaloni...

  Philippians 2:1-13 It’s election season again. That means political ads bombard us day and night on TV, on the radio, on Facebook, and in emails. These ads remind us that we are a divided nation that seems unable to discern what is good and right. So, how do we heal this brokenness that afflicts our land? How might we find unity when our communities, our churches, and families, are so divided? It’s important that we remember that there can be no true unity without justice for everyone who has been denied justice.   While we may want to achieve wholeness in our broken world, we’ll have to start within the Christian community. We have to get our own act together or our witness will be diluted. That’s why Paul told the Philippians to conduct their lives in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ ( Phil. 1:27 ). Now Paul calls on this community he dearly loves to stand together and make his joy complete by being “of the same mind, having the same love, being in fu...

  Romans 14:1-12 My favorite TV judge is Harry Stone from Night Court. Harry was humorous, friendly, and most of all, merciful. Oh, and did I mention, he was also something of an amateur magician? If I had to go to court, I’d like to stand before him. When it comes to playing the role of the judge ourselves, we tend to be more like Judge Roy Bean, the so-called hanging judge of the Old West, than Harry Stone. While we might enjoy playing the role of the hanging judge, Paul asks the Christians in Rome: “who are you to pass judgment on the servants of another?”  This community that Paul addresses here in Romans 14 seems to be divided over food and special days of the week. There is this one group that claims to be strong in the faith, and they’ll eat anything while the other group prefers to eat vegetables. This “strong group” also doesn’t pay much attention to particular days. They’re very free church. Paul has this way of coopting certain groups to get his point across...

Ephesians 1:3-14 Back in the day P.E. classes posed certain difficulties for those of us who weren’t all that athletic. I doubt things have changed much since my day. When it came time to divide into teams, some of us stood fearfully hoping we wouldn’t be the last one chosen. That would make us someone akin to the last player chosen in the NFL draft. They call that person “Mr. Irrelevant.” It’s better not to be drafted than to be drafted and forever known as “Mr. Irrelevant.” No one wants to be the last one chosen! I know because I’ve been there.   At the same time, there is joy to be found in being chosen. When we applied for the sabbatical grant, we didn’t know whether we would get it or not. So, when we received word that the committee had chosen us to receive the grant, well, that brought great joy. It’s good to be chosen!!  On this last Sunday of the Christmas season, which is also the first Sunday of a new year and a new decade, we hear this wor...

Wedding Procession - Peter Bruegel the Younger Romans 1:1-7 It’s the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we’ve lit the Love candle, and the sights and sounds of Christmas are all around us.  The lectionary offers us a reading from Matthew 1 , where we find the story of an angel who visits  Joseph and informs him that Mary’s child should be called Emmanuel, because in this child God is with us. It also offers us a word from the opening greeting of Paul’s letter to the Romans. Since Paul hasn’t ever visited this congregation, this greeting is a bit longer than in some of his other letters. He wants them to know to whom he belongs. Paul introduces himself as a servant of Jesus and an “apostle set apart for the gospel of God,” which has its roots in the promises given through the prophets and recorded in Scripture.  This gospel or good news is focused on Jesus, the Son of David and the Son of God. Paul reveals to them that God has called him to share the good news of Jes...

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...

Romans 8:12-25 There are seven parables in  Matthew 13.  I preached on the parable of the sower last Sunday, and next Sunday Naomi will have five other parables to choose from. That leaves the parable of the Weeds, which is this week’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew. Even though I’m focusing most of my preaching this Pentecost season on the Gospel of Matthew, this morning we’re taking a short break and attending to a word from the book of Romans. In Romans 8, Paul speaks of two kinds of obligation. According to Paul we owe a debt either to the flesh or to the Spirit. We call the first obligation selfishness, and it leads to death and destruction. The other possible debt or obligation leads to freedom from fear and abundant life. If we embrace the Spirit, we will be adopted as children of God. If we’re children of God, then we are joint heirs with Christ of all the promises of God. That means that we can, with Jesus, address God as “Abba, Father.” 

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. 

Romans 8:14-17 “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.”   With this simple song, our children invited us to celebrate Pentecost Sunday by letting the light of God’s Spirit shine through us.  When the Spirit of God descended on the people of God, like a mighty wind, that Pentecost Sunday, flames danced above each head.  This flame symbolizes the light of God that shines through us, lighting our pathways as we journey with God into the world.  Bearing this light, we fulfill our calling to be a blessing to our neighbors – whether close by or far away.   Not only does the song remind us that God has filled us with the light of the Spirit, but it also reminds us, that even if we’re adults, we’re still children of the living God.  As Paul puts it: “All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters” (Rom. 8:14 CEB).   Of course, none of us are God’s natural born children.  No, we’ve been adopted into God’s ...