Words of Welcome

  John 20:19-31 According to the Easter Sunday reading from the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene got up early in the morning to visit the tomb where Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had laid Jesus’ body after his death on the cross. When she arrived at the tomb, to her horror, she discovered that the stone sealing the tomb had been rolled away and the body missing. Of course, Mary will end up encountering the risen Jesus who commissioned her to tell his followers the good news that he had risen from the dead. This morning, we pick up John’s story a few hours after Mary’s encounter with Jesus. While Mary had told Jesus’ disciples that he was alive, it doesn’t appear that everyone believed her story. That’s because they had hidden themselves behind locked doors out of fear of the authorities. Then suddenly Jesus appeared in the room, greeting them with a word of peace. After greeting his stunned followers, he showed them his wounds so they would know that he wasn’t a ghost.  Wh...

  Mark 9:38-50 It seems as if scandals are breaking out all around us. Since scandal sells, not only will the media share the news, but the news gets amplified on social media. We eat it up because inquiring minds love juicy gossip. Unfortunately, scandalous news can create distrust and make us cynical about the way the world works. Cynicism also contributes to the growing courseness of our society. It seems that we’ve become numb to the way words and actions affect others.  When adults act without regard to the well-being others, they influence the way children behave. Sometimes adults forget that children are watching and listening to us. What they see and hear conveys certain messages about what is appropriate behavior. If they hear adults, especially politicians, belittle others, they will follow suit.  Over the last few weeks we’ve spent time in the Gospel of Mark. We’ve seen that Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand his mission. Since they envisioned Jesus leadi...

    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...

  Matthew 25:31-46 No one wants to go before a judge, at least not without a good attorney present! Perhaps, like me, you have had your day in court. My day came back in my 20s when I appeared in traffic court to make my confession of guilt for speeding. I didn’t need an attorney that day but some people do.  Here in Matthew 25 , Jesus speaks of the day when the Son of Man comes in his glory to gather the peoples of the earth to face the day of final judgment. On that day Jesus, the Son of Man, takes on the role of judge and separates the sheep from the goats. The question Jesus raises for us is whether we’re ready to face the judge. This reading from Matthew is sometimes thought of as a parable, but it’s not really a parable. Instead, Jesus issues a warning to us about the choices we make in life. He uses the images of sheep and goats. In this picture, on the day of judgment, the king will reward the sheep and punish the goats. The sheep are the righteous and the goats ...

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 We’ve made it to the end of the road and it’s judgment time. We began this cycle of our life together as church on the first Sunday of Advent, and now the church year has wound its way to this moment when we declare that “Jesus reigns where’re the sun does its successive journeys run; his love shall spread from shore to shore till moons wax and wane no more.” We’ve heard a word of encouragement this morning from the prophet Ezekiel. The prophet spoke these words to exiles living in Babylon. He told them that God is the shepherd who brings the scattered sheep living in exile back home to their own land. In doing this, God seeks out the lost, binds up the wounded, and strengthens the weak. When it comes to the “fat and strong sheep,” well, God will “feed them with justice.”    There are parallels between Ezekiel’s message and the Twenty-third Psalm . Like the Psalmist, the prophet speaks words of comfort and compassion to the flock, but as Wil Gafne...