Words of Welcome

  Matthew 14:22-33 According to the Gospel of Matthew Jesus went about Galilee proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven. He revealed this heavenly realm in parables like the parable of the sower and the parable of the mustard seed. He also revealed God’s realm through his miracles. Last week we heard the story of the feeding of the 5000. We may not know how Jesus fed so many people with such little food, but we can develop suitable theories. However, when it comes to walking on water, that’s a different story. You might call this an “impossible possibility” of the miracle stories, stories that require that we use our spiritual imaginations. Then this story, as Brian McLaren suggests, can “play a catalytic role in co-creating new possibilities for the world of tomorrow” [ We Make the Road by Walking, p. 97]. Today’s reading from Matthew 14 picks up the story right after Jesus fed the 5000. Matthew tells us that Jesus sent the disciples back across the lake and dismissed ...

  Vision of the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel) by Paul Gauguin Genesis 32:22-31 When I was a kid, my mother decided I needed to learn how to defend myself. So, she signed me up for wrestling camp. Now, I would have rather spent my Saturday mornings at basketball camp, but I ended up spending six Saturdays supposedly learning to wrestle. I think I tried my best, but I never became a very proficient wrestler. The camp ended with a tournament and much to my relief I got pinned in the first round. That was the end of my wrestling career. I don’t know if Jacob went to wrestling camp, but according to our reading from Genesis, he was a very competitive wrestler. He even might have been Olympic caliber! At this point in Jacob’s story, he’s reached the Jabbok River. His brother Esau lived on the other side of the river. Jacob and Esau were twin brothers and rivals. This relationship carried a lot of baggage that goes back to the womb.  Years before Jacob fled his ho...

Mark 16:1-8 The TV show  M.A.S.H.  ran for eleven years. It first went on the air when I was starting high school and it ended the year Cheryl and I were married.  In between, we hiked into the M.A.S.H. set on our first date.  The series ran nine years longer than the war it portrayed. There were numerous cast changes over the years, but those of us who loved the show enjoyed them all.  It was fitting then that the show closed by bringing the war to an end, and the parting of ways. It was a celebration of peace and the bittersweet nature of going one’s separate ways. The final episode gave the writer s the opportunity to bring closure to the story and tie up loose ends.  One by one, beginning with Father Mulcahy, the characters depart for their new lives. In the final scene, after Colonel Potter rides off one more time on his cavalry horse Sophie, only Hawkeye and BJ remain. Hawkeye is frustrated that B.J. won’t say goodbye. In the final ...

Matthew 25:14-30 Have you ever watched Jim Cramer’s CNBC show Mad Money?  If you don’t know who Jim Cramer is, he’s a wild-eyed stock picking guru who wants to help you make money in the stock market!   The motto of the show is that “there is always a bull market somewhere, and he wants to help you find it.”   Jim Cramer, it appears, believes in the principle of abundance over scarcity.  In his mind, somewhere there is an investment that will make you a profit, you just have to look for it, and he’s willing to help you make that discovery.   Now, I don’t spend much time watching his show, since  a little goes a long way, but I’m intrigued by his ability to pick good places to invest.  He seems to know his stuff!   But money isn’t the only thing we have to invest.  We also have our lives to invest, but the question – where will you invest?       We’re nearing the end of the liturgical year, and the lectionary tex...

Mark 5:21-43 Life is full of interruptions, especially in this age of the cell phone. But, even if you don't own one, people will still find you. The phone rings, usually at an inconvenient moment, or maybe someone stops by, and before you know it, the day is gone. Just one interruption after another. Although you intended to finish the job, things got the better of you. In the gospels Jesus is often interrupted. He’s going somewhere important, but then someone stops him and asks for help or advice. It can be frustrating, but Jesus understood that sometimes the needs of the moment are as important as what’s on the calendar. But this morning’s text isn’t just about interruptions, it’s also about faith and the risks involved in living our lives by faith. In this text we encounter two interrelated stories of healing. Both Jairus and the unnamed woman take a risk in coming to Jesus, but that is often the way it is with faith. And in taking this risk, they interrup...