Words of Welcome

John 6:56-69 Has a preacher ever said something that offended you? Did you decide never to go back to that church? I expect we’ve all been there at least once in our lives. Since I’m the guest preacher this morning, I’ll do my best not to offend you. I don’t want to get Pastor Alex in trouble for inviting me here to preach this morning.  While I’ll do my best not to offend you, could Jesus say something that might offend you? Have you ever run into something that Jesus is recorded as saying that shocked you?  As we read the Gospels, it quickly becomes clear that Jesus had a tendency to step on toes and push people’s buttons. On one occasion, according to Luke, Jesus visited his hometown of Nazareth. Since they had heard he was something of a preacher and healer, they invited him to say a few words in their synagogue. That didn’t go well. By the end of the service, the home folks tried to throw him off a cliff. Fortunately, Jesus escaped and headed off to a friendlier ven...

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...

Psalm 85:8-13 According to our UCC friends, “God is still speaking.” While I would agree, what is God saying to us? So, as the Psalmist declares: let us “hear what God the Lord will speak.” And, let us not only listen to the Lord, but following the Hebrew, which might be in the footnotes, let us not return to folly. It’s believed that this Psalm was written after the end of the Babylonian exile. Therefore, the Psalmist, asks the people how they will live in this new post-exilic reality. Will they follow God’s lead or turn back to the folly that led to the exile? I don’t know about you, but it feels like we’re in a season of exile. Life is anything but normal. We can’t go to the movies or gather together in large groups. While outdoors is better than indoors, nothing is completely safe. Professional baseball and basketball have returned but without fans. The NFL and the NCAA authorities are trying to figure out how to play football this fall. I will admit that I’m a bit ...

The Holy Family and St. John the Baptist - Willem Van Mieris - DIA  Here on Christmas morning, as many of us gather in the Spirit of Christmas, I wish to share the meditation shared at Central Woodward Christian Church during our Christmas Eve service.  John 1:1-14 Christ is born, give glory; Christ is from the heavens, go to meet him; Christ is on earth, be lifted up. “Sing to the Lord, all the earth,” and, to say both together, “Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice,” for the heavenly one is now earthly . [Gregory of Nazianazus, Festal Orations, p. 61]. I think these opening lines of Gregory of Nazianzus’ oration “On the Nativity of Christ” offer a useful summary of why we gather together on Christmas Eve. We’ve come to greet and meet the “heavenly one [who] is now earthly.”  On Christmas Eve we enter a mystical world. We’re invited to contemplate John’s message that the Word of God assumed flesh and dwelt among us so that we might see hi...

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 The closest I ever get to sowing seeds is laying down grass seed to fill in the gaps in the lawn. I can’t say I have any expertise in this, or much success, but I try. When I sow the grass seed, I try my best to get the soil just right. I go to the store, pick up top soil or even planting mix. I dig out the weeds and rocks, and put down a layer of that specially prepared soil. I try to buy grass seed designed to sprout quickly and has a long life span, though it rarely works as promised. As Cheryl can attest, I do what I can to make the front yard look nice, but I confess that I don’t have a green thumb. 

Job 38:1-7, 34-41 For thirty-seven chapters Job and his friends have been debating the question: “why me?” That’s a question that many of us ask at one point or another. Bad things happen and we want an explanation. Sometimes, as is the case with the answers provided by Job’s friends, the answers don’t make sense. Sometimes we even want to take up the conversation with God, but we’re not sure we’re up to the task.  Last Sunday we listened to Job as he challenged God to appear in court and answer his questions. He believed he was innocent, but he was also terrified of the possibility that God might actually show up. One of Job’s friends assures Job that he needn’t worry about God showing up. God was too busy to bother with his futile questioning.  Elihu is the fourth “friend” to enter the debate with Job. In many ways these four friends, demonstrate the principle that with friends like this, who needs enemies! Elihu feels the need to defend God’s honor. He tel...

John 1:1-5, 14-18 Rembrandt's Jesus -- DIA The Psalmist asks: “Who is the King of Glory?” The answer: “The Lord of hosts, He is the King of Glory” ( Psalm 24:10 ).  These past few weeks we have been asking the question: How do we speak of God?  We’re asking this question rather than who is God, because God’s essence remains a mystery to us. But, if we speak of God we do have some idea about God’s identity. Of course, as Christian Piatt reminded us on several occasions last weekend, whatever our conceptions of God, we should hold them loosely. Instead of seeking certainty we live by faith.  The Gospel of John begins with this declaration:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  John later tells us that this Word “has become flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son” (John 1:1, 14). So, “who is the King of Glory?”  It is, John believes, the God revealed in...

Luke 10:38-42 We’ve been hearing a lot about distracted drivers lately.  Everyone is talking on their cell phones or texting.  We thought that hands-free devices would make us safer, but apparently, they’re just as bad.  It’s not about the hands, it’s about where we place our attention.     Of course, sometimes we become distracted by worrying about distracted drivers.  The other day I was driving home from the church along Wattles.  I noticed that the young woman in the car next to me was texting.  I got to thinking – that’s illegal. It’s dangerous.  She should stop that immediately!  But when I turned my head and mind back to the road ahead I discovered that the traffic had slowed down, and I nearly hit the car in front of me.  Yes, we can get distracted by worrying about the distracted ones. There are many kinds of distractions in our world, some of which are spiritual in nature. On the opening night...

Luke 4:14-21 I’ve always found the story of Elijah passing over the mantle of the Spirit to Elisha to be quite powerful. It’s really the story of one generation passing the torch to the next.  So, when it came time for Elijah to ascend to heaven, he turned to Elisha, and asked him: What can I do for you before I leave?  In response, Elisha boldly asks Elijah for a “double share of your spirit.”  Yes, he wants everything Elijah has, but more.  So then, after Elijah ascends into the heavens, Elisha picks up the same mantle or outer coat that his mentor used to hit  and divide the Jordan, so they could cross over to the other side, and he followed his mentor’s example and hits the water and it divides so he can cross back over to the other side.  When the other prophets see Elisha coming toward them, they recognize the spirit of Elijah resting on Elijah’s former assistant, and affirm his calling to begin a new era of prophetic ministry in Israel (2 Kin...

Hebrews 4:12-16 We all have a few skeletons in your closet. There are things, secret things,  that we’d rather others not know about.   And, some things are best left unsaid.   Of course, it’s getting more difficult to keep secrets.  After all, as politicians are discovering, you never know who is recording your words and movements. But sometimes we, ourselves, put out in public things that come back to haunt us. You have to be really careful about what you post on Facebook and Twitter. You may think it’s just your “friends,” who see that picture or that comment, but there’s a whole lot of other people who just might see it as well.  So, as a rule of thumb, if you don’t want the world knowing your business, then don’t make it public record on social media.  You might also remember these three letters:  TMI or Too Much Information! Because I blog and am on Facebook, Linked-In, and Twitter, I’ve left a bit of a trail.  I’ve tried n...

John 6:58-69 Has a preacher ever said something that offended you so much that you never went back to that church?  I hope that none of you will take offense at what I say today, or if you do, I hope you’ll come back next week!   And what about Jesus, is there anything that he said that offends you?   I’d be surprised if you said no.  After all, Jesus did have a tendency to say things that got him into trouble.  Remember how his sermon back at his hometown synagogue went?  He was just coming off being baptized by John and had begun to gain a following.  But as they say – you can’t always go home.  On that evening, after Jesus read the text from Isaiah, he began to preach and before too long, the people were getting restless and just a bit angry with what he had to say.  So, instead of celebrating a triumphant homecoming, the hometown crowd tried to throw him a cliff.  Fortunately, Jesus escaped this fate and head...