Words of Welcome

    Luke 19:1-10 People often had life-changing experiences when they met Jesus. While not everyone responded positively to his ministry, there were many others who left behind their old lives after they met Jesus and chose to follow him. This was especially true of people like Peter and Andrew, who, along with James and John, left behind their fishing businesses to follow Jesus. Then there’s Levi, who left his tax collection booth when Jesus invited him to join his band of disciples, but not before he threw a banquet for Jesus and his friends. Jesus would add seven more members to his inner circle, but there are others who followed him. Luke also mentions the seventy who went out on a mission. Then there were several women who joined his team after they encountered him, including Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and others who provided for Jesus through their own resources.  Even if they didn’t join the band, there are many other stories of life-changing encounters. ...

Luke 19:1-10 We’re in the midst of a conversation about the meaning of the Lord’s Table, but we’ve also been talking about stewardship. The question is what, if anything, do they have to do with each other?  There are those who think it odd that we bring our offerings to the communion table. They might wonder if there is a fee that needs to be paid to receive this meal. Some ask why churches seem to talk so much about money? There are fiduciary reasons, but that’s not all.  Jesus talked a lot about money because he understood that how we view money has a lot to do who we are as children of God. On at least  one occasion,  he suggested that where our treasure lies, there our hearts will be. So perhaps bringing treasure to the Table is a sign of where we want our hearts to be. 

Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19 “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel . . . Stir up your might and come to save us!” In ages past, the Shepherd of Israel took a vine out of Egypt and planted it in a new land. This vine spread out covering the land from sea to river. It grew strong and powerful. Unfortunately, over time the vine lost its luster. For some reason the Shepherd had failed to properly care for the vine, or at least that’s the view of the Psalmist, who asks God to repent and look down upon God’s people and restore the vine to its former glory. Yes, Lord, make your face to shine upon us once again!

2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2 Paul declared that “now is the acceptable time; see, now is the Day of Salvation!” That may be true, but what does it mean to be saved or to proclaim Jesus as savior?  This is a question that many struggle with. We sing about it and pray about it, but we’re not sure what salvation really is.  That’s the impression that Mark Love got from his interviews and surveys. We have a strong sense of the presence of God in the world, but we’re not quite sure how that relates to our own lives. He found that there’s a lot of discomfort with traditional understandings of Jesus being our “personal savior,” despite all the salvation imagery present in our hymns and prayers, including the prayers at the Table.  Could it be that we’ve been overly influenced by an atonement theory that many of us find problematic? The idea that Jesus died on a cross as a sacrificial victim to satisfy God’s need for blood as atonement for our sins no longer makes sense. ...

Psalm 126 The theme of this Advent season is “restoration.”  Each week we are hearing a word from the Psalms that speak to God’s work of restoration in the world and in our lives.  If you go to the Somerset Collection this afternoon – if you’re brave enough -- you can go to the Restoration Hardware store.  There you will find many high end home furnishings, from brass doorknobs to fashionable window coverings, to beautify your home.  That’s not what we have in mind this Advent season.   Instead, the restoration that we have in mind here is the restoration of our relationships with God, with one another, and with creation.  In the Psalm we read the first Sunday of Advent, we hear the Psalmist declare: “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved”  ( Psalm 80:3 ).  This work of restoration is God’s work, not ours.  It is a work of salvation – a word that includes both healing and reconciliation.  During this A...

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 What if you could live your life over again?   Wouldn’t it be great to fix all your mistakes and repair the broken relationships?   Of course time travel is nothing more than a science fiction dream, so this doesn’t seem possible.  And yet, St. Paul writes that in Christ all things can become new.   Or, as Brian Wren’s hymn puts it:    “This is a Day of New Beginnings; time to remember and move one, time to believe what love is bringing, laying to rest the pain that’s gone.” Many of us have a favorite passage of scripture, and this is one of mine.  I’ve turned to it time and again for guidance and assurance. I’ve preached from this passage several times before, because it’s a wonderful summary of the gospel message.  It also defines our role in the work of God.       Another reason why I find this passage to be so powerful is that it speaks of new beginnings, of second chances, of new ...

Jeremiah 31:1-6 It may have come early this year, but today is Easter Sunday. Therefore, it’s time to celebrate. Easter is one of those holidays that combines religious and nonreligious elements, and you get to choose which part to emphasize. For many people, it’s a time to color eggs and hide them; a time to eat chocolate bunnies, and it’s a time to bring out our new spring clothes. Yes, today is a day to wear our spring best; maybe, even put on a new hat. Back in the day, if you can believe the movies, Easter was the day when people got all dressed up and paraded their new stuff in front of their neighbors. Irving Berlin wrote the music for a movie with the title Easter Parade , starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. Now that musical really didn’t have anything to do with Easter, but apparently they did have fashion parades back in the old days – before any of us were around. Easter is also a celebration of spring. We celebrate the rebirth of nature, of the flowers and the trees, wh...

Isaiah 11:1-11 If you wander through a grove of Redwoods, you’ll likely run across the stump of an ancient tree giving birth to a new generation of trees. That forest giant may have died, but new life is emerging from it. In much the same way Isaiah envisions a shoot emerging from the stump of Jesse. Jesse, of course, was David’s father. Isaiah is saying that David’s kingdom might be threatened with extinction, but despite the dire news of the day, things will get better. Not only will they get better, but a golden age of peace is on the horizon. The people’s hopes and dreams will be restored by God. As Christians we see in Isaiah’s vision a promise of the Messiah, God’s anointed one who will restore Creation to its proper order. It may seem like a utopian dream that doesn’t line up with what we know about nature – but that’s not the point. The seasons of Advent and Christmas focus not on what is, but what shall be. It is as Bobby Kennedy said: "There are those who look at things ...