Words of Welcome

Acts 2:1-21 ; Genesis 11:1-9 This is the story of the Tower of Babel, and it’s a strange one. A group of people discover how to make bricks and then they decide to build a city with a tower that can reach to the clouds, which is where God can be found. In the bricks they see a way of controlling their destiny. They can protect themselves from outside and they can build a rampart so they can touch the heavens and therefore touch God. For some reason God sees this as some sort of threat, as if this group of mortals will storm the gates of heaven and take over. To keep them at bay, God decides to confuse their languages. And when this happens the people scatter leaving their tower incomplete. And thus the threat to heaven is stopped. THE PATH TO ALIENATION At the heart of this story is the problem of hubris, that arrogant sense that we can control everything, even our relationship with God. And the result of this attitude is confusion and even anarchy. Where once there was clarity, now ...

John 17:20-26 The bookstores are full of best-sellers warning us that religion is dangerous. Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens have written books that have caught the fancy of people who believe that religion, including Christianity, is at best irrational, and at worst “really does poison everything.” Religious fanatics who fly planes into tall buildings, blow up clinics, protest at funerals, or offer bombastic statements about any number of issues, only give support to these claims. And as for you and me, well, apparently we give cover to the fanatics simply by professing faith in God. I could try to ignore the critics, but some of their critiques are helpful, because they point out our tendency toward self-righteousness and feelings of superiority. And so when I saw the announcement that Pluralism Sunday would be observed on Pentecost, I decided to look into it and then I signed us up. Pluralism Sunday is sponsored by The Center for Progressive Christianity, and w...

Revelation 21:22-22:5 The final volume in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia is entitled The Last Battle . In that book Lewis picks up on an important theme in Revelation. Evil is a consuming power that lives off pain, suffering, and destruction. In this story, an imposter poses as Aslan, and speaks to the people of Narnia who long to hear Aslan’s voice. The impostor is in the employ of the Calormenes, who serve the evil god Tash, and who wish to control Narnia. Jill and Eustace expose the impostors, but not before Narnia is destroyed. The good news is that Narnia gives way to a new world, the land of Aslan. Those who are faithful to Aslan are invited to enter the kingdom of promise. Interestingly enough, among those going through the door is Ermeth, a Calormene warrior, and Puzzle the donkey, who in his innocence allowed himself to be used to impersonate Aslan. Like the Narnians, we too live in a land of false promises and broken relationships. Evil resists the justice and mercy of God...

Revelation 21:1-6 In the movie The Perfect Storm, a group of fishermen heads out to sea looking for one good catch that will sustain them for the winter. After many days of failure, they finally bring in that big haul and get ready to head home. The only problem is that their ice machine is broken and without ice the catch will spoil. Their only hope is to make fast break home and hope that their small supply of ice holds till then. This strategy is, however, dangerous because a massive storm stands in the way. If they wait out the storm they’ll lose the catch and needed cash for the winter, but heading home could lead to their deaths. Believing they can conquer the sea, they head home. Their audacity is tested because this is no ordinary storm. This is a perfect storm, a convergence of weather and sea so powerful that there’s no way out – and in the end they’re lost without a trace. THE THREAT OF CHAOS The ancient world feared the power of the Sea. Homer’s Odyssey is a good example of...

Revelation 5:11-14 What are your priorities in life? Tragedies like the Virginia Tech shootings can be wake-up calls. For a moment we stop and think about what’s important in life. Tragically such events happen every day somewhere in the world, but usually we don’t take much notice of them. Indeed that same day nearly 200 Iraqis died in four separate bombings. Now, my sermon today isn’t about what happened in Blacksburg or in Baghdad, at least not directly. But perhaps there are connections to be found. This morning’s text comes from Revelation and ultimately it’s a word concerning allegiance. For early Christians, especially those living at the end of the first century, long before the church received favored status from Constantine, being a Christian was tricky, even dangerous. The emperors didn’t care what you believed as long as you would swear allegiance to them as well. Just call me "Lord" they said, and everything will be okay. THE CHALLENGE OF THE POWERS Revelation is...

1 Corinthians 15:19-26 Easter is here in all its glory! Colorful baskets of eggs and chocolates, along with an Easter bonnet or two, help us celebrate the coming of Spring. These accouterments of our annual Easter celebrations remind us that something even more important is at hand. Our Easter celebration lifts up the victory of life over death, a victory that’s embodied in the resurrection of Jesus. Just as Spring frees nature from the bondage of Winter’s grip, the Resurrection signifies the liberation of human life from the bondage of death. And if we look around we discover that signs of death are all around us. It’s in the news, in our TV shows, and in the movies. Yes, it’s especially prominent in the movies. Although modern medicine may delay death’s call, our culture seems to be fascinated with it, and the more violent death, the more intrigued we become. Consider for a moment the Oscar winning movie The Departed. The title of the movie says it all, for in the end almost everyone...

Philippians 2:5-11 Athletes are easy targets for criticism. Prancing around and posing for the camera, acting like prima donnas as they do, the antics of contemporary athletes are often amusing. Football players strut across the field pointing their fingers at the camera, home run hitters stop to admire their handiwork, and basketball players try ever more entertaining high wire dunks, But sometimes these acts backfire, like when the ball falls short of the fence, making that would-be home run a very long single; or that power dunk that bounces off the rim and lands in the seats. Why do they do this? Well, it’s because the fans like it. So, should it surprise us that anyone whom we idolize, whether an actor, musician, politician, or athlete, may, on occasion, act as if they’re almost a deity? How do you stay humble if people idolize you? I mean, what if you rode into town and people started to proclaim you the Messiah? That’s what happened to Jesus the day he rode into Jerusalem on a ...