Words of Welcome

1 Corinthians 15:12-20 The spirit of Easter has arrived early in three sets of lectionary readings from 1 Corinthians 15. Paul already revealed to us the core Christian message contained in the church’s confession “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures” ( 1 Cor. 15:3 ). That’s Paul’s message, but if this is true, why are some members of the Corinthian church questioning the truth of this message? Why cast doubt on Paul’s message about the resurrection? Paul’s question is as relevant today as it was in the first century. People are still asking questions about the resurrection. Some people have trouble imagining the idea of bodily resurrection, especially since scientific proof is difficult to come by. Paul did offer up witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus, but even that doesn’t suffice for many. It’s possible this was nothing more than a mass hallucination...

Matthew 9:35-10:8 Last Sunday we heard Jesus issue the Great Commission: “Go into the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” This morning we hear another commission, but it’s more localized. We find ourselves on the far side of the resurrection, and as Jesus travels through Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the good news of God’s realm, he realizes the people of Israel are “like sheep without a shepherd.” Because he has compassion for them, he tells the disciples that while “the harvest is plentiful,” the “laborers are few.” The metaphors are agricultural—shepherding and harvesting—but the point is simple. There is work to be done, which means more laborers, more shepherds, more harvesters, are needed.  Jesus responds to this situation, by asking the disciples to pray that “the Lord of the harvest” would “send out laborers into this harvest.” As the reading continues, we discover that the answ...

Matthew 9:35-10:8 I don’t have a lot of personal experience with farming. Although I may have grown up in an agricultural area, I’m still a city boy! Besides going out in the back yard to pick some apricots, the closest I’ve ever gotten to farming was an essay I wrote for a history textbook on the Agricultural Revolution of the 18th Century. So when it comes to talking about harvesting, any expertise I have comes from book learning. Fortunately you’ve not come today hoping to learn gardening techniques. If you have, then you have to look elsewhere! I don’t know if Jesus was an expert on farming either, but he seemed to understand the basic principles of farming. The first principle is simple -- if something looks ripe, then you better pick it! The second principle simply insists that it takes workers to harvest a crop. Jesus may be correct about the principles of farming, but I don’t think he was interested in farming per se! So, maybe in this passage, when he ta...

Deuteronomy 16:13-17 What are you thankful for? That’s a question we normally ask on Thanksgiving Day, but since I probably won’t be with most of you on Thursday, I’m asking it today instead. Now before you start responding, I’m asking this rhetorically. I expect that if I opened up for responses this service would never end. That’s why the feast of booths went on for seven days. So, what are we thankful for? Good health, good friends, shelter over our heads, and having enough to eat. Could it be that we’re thankful for living in a country that allows us the freedom to worship, to speak, and to think as we wish? Is it the freedom we have to vote as we wish? Each of us has something different to add to the list. A CALL TO CELEBRATE WITH THANKSGIVING Deuteronomy 16 is a summons. It invites the people of God to gather at festivals of thanksgiving. In ancient Israel, the men came together at least three times a year to give thanks for God’s blessings, and when they came to the feast, they ...