Words of Welcome

  Galatians 6:1-16 When Paul wrote his letter to the Galatian church early in his ministry, he was trying to bring Gentiles into a community rooted in Judaism. One of the defining elements of Jewish identity was circumcision. Some of the Jewish members of the community argued that Gentiles should be circumcised before entering the church. Since this was a stumbling block to Gentiles, who wished to enter the community, Paul argued that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision mattered because “the new creation is everything.” Since the new creation is rooted in God’s grace, this physical marker was unnecessary. The sixth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians offers a summary of previous topics, while I’m tempted to cover all of them, I promise not to do so. This chapter in Paul’s Galatian letter follows his discussion of the fruit of the Spirit. He closes chapter 5 by telling the Galatians: “If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit. Let’s not become arrogant, make ea...

    Romans 13:8-14 Let me tell you how it will be There's one for you, nineteen for me 'Cause I'm the tax man Yeah, I'm the tax man Should five percent appear too small Be thankful I don't take it all 'Cause I'm the tax man Yeah, I'm the tax man  -- - Beatles Thus, sang the Beatles. It’s true that no one really likes the “tax man.” That’s true today and it was true in the ancient world. Nevertheless, Jesus told the people to give Caesar what belonged to Caesar and to God what belonged to God ( Mt. 22:21 ). Paul seems to have agreed with Jesus. Here in Romans 13, he told his readers in Rome to obey the authorities and pay their taxes. Yes, it’s the right thing to do “to pay taxes for the civil authorities are appointed by God for the good purposes of public order and well-being. Give everyone his legitimate due, whether it be rates, or taxes, or reverence, or respect!” ( Rom. 13:7 JB Phillips ). As the saying goes, there are only two t...

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 It seems strangely appropriate to hear an apocalyptic reading from scripture at the close of a week featuring rising COVID cases and a bitterly contested Presidential election. Are these signs that Jesus is about to return and take us home? If so, are you ready?    In last Sunday’s reading from 1 Thessalonians 2, we heard Paul commend the Thessalonians for embracing his message as a word from God ( 1 Thess. 2:9-13) . Now, Paul addresses the matter of Jesus’ return in glory and the fate of those who had already died. This reading draws on Jewish apocalyptic imagery that envisioned the replacement of the old, broken, world order with God’s new creation. This is the message Paul had preached in Thessalonika.  The only difference is that he envisioned Jesus being the agent of this dramatic break in human history. The Thessalonians were looking forward to this new day, but they were worried about the fate of those who had died before all of this too...

Luke 10:25-37 Who wouldn’t want to be a “Good Samaritan?” We’re so used to connecting the word “good” to the character of the Samaritan it’s easy to miss the scandalous nature of this parable. What if there’s nothing good about a Samaritan? No one in Jesus’ audience would have applied the word “good” to a “Samaritan.” Do you still want to be a Good Samaritan?  If you go back to chapter nine, you’ll discover that Jesus ran into trouble in Samaria. He was turned away from a village because he was heading toward Jerusalem. Fortunately, Jesus didn’t follow the advice of James and John who wanted to call down fire from heaven to consume the village, but that goes to show that something is up in the story of the Good Samaritan ( Lk 9:51-56 ).   Not long after Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan villagers, he sent out the seventy to preach. After they returned from their mission trip, Jesus was approached by a lawyer. Now, I need to let you know that Luke doesn’t seem ...

1 John 4:7-21 “What the world needs now is love, sweet love.” That may be true, but what is love and where does it come from? Do we need to just sing some silly love songs, because, as Paul McCartney put it, “some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs, and what’s wrong with that?”   If what the world needs now is love, then we need to define our terms. Is love a feeling, an emotion, or something else? The love songs that fill the air usually speak of tender feelings between two people, because “when I fall in love, it will be forever, or I’ll never fall in love.” If we’re honest with ourselves, each of us has probably “fallen in love” a couple of times. It’s possible that we have found a love that  “will be forever,” but perhaps not.  When Jesus shared the two love commands, which he drew from the Hebrew Bible, he had more in mind than feelings. He used the parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate neighborly love. You know the story, a...

Matthew 22:34-46 In recent days political leaders from both major parties have spoken out against the coarseness of our political conversation. Something is afoot in the land, and it seems as if that would be a lack of generosity of spirit. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve all contributed to this coarseness. Our Disciples mission statement speaks of being a movement of wholeness in a fragmented world. It does seem as if the brokenness and fragmentation of our world is now fully out in the open. If there is a lack of generosity of spirit in the land, how will we as followers of Jesus respond? I raise this question on Commitment Sunday. This morning we bring to a close our annual stewardship emphasis, the “Journey to Generosity.” It’s time to turn in our commitment cards so that budgets can be made and plans made for the new year. We’ll have a party after church, with good food and good conversation. As we make these commitments, large and small, we begin imagining the ...

Psalm 82 Who are we as a congregation? If we claim to be Disciples of Christ then what does that say about how we live in the world? That is the question that the  Preamble to the Design ,  which we recited earlier in the service seeks to answer. It’s a covenant statement that binds us as a congregation with our brothers and sisters across the region, across the nation, and across the world. It binds us with others who call themselves Disciples, but it also binds us together with all Christians. Indeed, it defines our “mission of witness and service to all people.”  That statement was adopted in the 1960s as the Disciples entered a new phase of life together. There is a briefer statement that was adopted more recently and it goes like this: “We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. As part of the one body of Christ we welcome all to the Lord’s Table as God has welcomed us.” In April we officially became an  Open and Affir...

Luke 4:21-30   Don’t you love cliff hangers? If you’re old enough, you might remember that for an entire summer the nation’s attention was arrested by the question of “Who shot J.R.?” The lectionary left us in a somewhat similar position last week. When last we gathered, Jesus was making a few comments about the reading from  Isaiah 61 , which spoke of the Year of Jubilee. When he sat down, he told the congregation: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” That’s where we pick up the story this morning. Jesus is telling the people that he is the fulfillment of Isaiah 61. He is the one anointed with the Spirit who will institute the Year of Jubilee, and with it freedom from poverty, imprisonment, and captivity.  The people are still amazed at his words, after all this is Joseph’s son. We know this man. We watched him grow up. So how did he become such a great preacher? Well that’s as good as it gets, because Jesus quickly moves from hometown ...

Romans 12:9-21 Sometimes you come across a passage of Scripture that could take several months of sermons to explore.  This is true of today’s reading.  With sentences coming at us in rapid-fire fashion, it demands a great degree of reflection.  Since I’m not planning an extended series at this moment, I will try to refrain from dwelling too long in every nook and cranny of Paul’s message.   Each statement is an imperative sentence that speaks to what it means to live the Christian life.  It’s fitting that this reading comes on Labor Day Weekend, because it will take a lot of work to fulfill Paul’s expectations.   The key to this passage is the call to “let love be genuine” (vs. 9).  Everything that follows is an expression of genuine love.  It’s not romantic love.  It’s not just friendship.  It’s Agape love.  When it comes to defining love, I’ve been turning to theologian Tom Oord for help.  His basic definition...

Luke 13:31-35 It is written in the book of Ecclesiastes: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: (Eccl. 3:1) There is, therefore,   “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance (vs. 4).   We began our Lenten journey with the imposition of ashes, which is a sign of mourning and repentance.  This is a time to weep.  But, we end our journey on Easter Morning with shouts of Alleluia, because Christ our Lord is Risen from the Dead.     Lent reminds us that the life of a disciple of Jesus is complicated.  There are moments of great joy, but also moments of sadness and even suffering. The reading from Luke begins with a warning from a group of  Pharisees.  They tell Jesus that Herod Antipas wants to add his head to that of John the Baptist.  Jesus tells the “fox,” as he calls the king, that his destiny lies not in Galilee but in Jerusalem. Th...

Luke 10:25-37 Growing up, my world seemed pretty simple. Being religious meant being a Christian. I didn't know many Jews, Muslims, Hindus, or Buddhists. I didn't really even know anything about them. About as exotic as any of my friends got was being a Mormon. Today things are different, even if we don't always notice it. Mosques, synagogues, and Temples are everywhere. Just go two miles up Adams, and you’ll see a Hindu Temple under construction. Continue on up to Auburn Road and take a right, as you head toward Rochester Road, you’ll see two different mosques, one on the left and one on the right. Further down you’ll find an Albanian Catholic church, and then coming back down John R, at the corner of Long Lake, you’ll find a Romanian Pentecostal church. Turning right on Wattles, you’ll come to a Serbian Orthodox Church sitting next to Troy Athens High School, and then further on down Wattles, you’ll find a Croatian Catholic Church, a Greek Orthodox Church, a Jehovah’s W...