Words of Welcome

Luke 14:1, 7-14 What would Emily Post say? If the President invites you to a party at the White House, where should you sit? If you arrive early, should you go and save that empty seat up front at his right hand? It sure would be great to sit as close as possible to the center of attention, but maybe it would be better to take a seat farther back in the crowd. Of course, proximity to greatness does suggest greatness! Back in the Soviet era, when Leonid Brezhnev was still running things, Time Magazine would try to figure out who was next in line to succeed him. Since the Soviets weren't too keen on letting out the secret, the analysts at Time would watch where Politburo members stood on Kremlin wall overlooking Red Square during important events, like a May Day review of the troops. The assumption was that the closer you stood to Brezhnev, the closer you were to the top of the list. If you’d moved down a few spaces, well obviously you were on the way out of favor. You know that...

Hebrews 12:18-29 I’m a survivor. Yes, I’ve survived several earthquakes, although none of them have been massive. The largest quake we ever experienced was the Northridge Quake in 1994, but it was centered miles away from our apartment in Rancho Cucamonga. That quake started with a jolt and then a rumble. The moment it struck I didn’t know its intensity or its epicenter, but I knew it wasn’t a train going by the complex. So I jumped out of bed, grabbed Brett, and headed for the door jam. The quake didn't last long, just a mater of seconds, but it rattled my nerves, and it was a while before we got back to sleep. We later learned that it was a 6.7 earthquake that, wreaked havoc on the Los Angeles basin. It led to the deaths of 17 people, injured scores more, and took down important freeway overpasses and numerous buildings in the San Fernando Valley. When I got to work at the library in Pasadena, which was much closer to the epicenter, I discovered I had a mess to clean up – inclu...

Luke 12:32-40 I was once asked to housesit for family friends, because they had two Dalmatians needing to be tended to. I think I was still in high school at the time, and all I had to do was walk and feed the dogs, and make sure everything was secure. It wasn’t a difficult job by any means, but since these were friends of the family, I needed to make sure everything was in order when they returned. I knew when they were supposed to return, and I was going to clean things up before they arrived. Now, as some of you know I don’t keep the tidiest of offices, so, you can imagine that I might have let things go just a bit. Of course, I intended to clean everything up before they were supposed to return, but I never thought about what might happen if they returned early and without notice. Fortunately we have something the readers of Luke’s gospel didn’t have. We have telephones. And, the phone did ring as I was watching TV, with dishes in the sink and books and papers scattered here and...

Colossians 3:1-11 Mark Twain famously said that “Clothes make the man,” and we’re often told to dress for success. In fact there is much truth to this adage, which is why there is a nonprofit called “Dress for Success” that provides appropriate clothing for job seekers. Even in this much more casual era, we seem to understand that clothes stand for something, and by changing our clothes we can change our identity. Although it’s probably not polite to talk about movies that feature a prostitute as the main character, I couldn’t come up with a better example of the way clothes can transform a person’s identity than the Julia Roberts film Pretty Woman. I even searched the internet to see if I could find a “better” example, but nothing spoke so clearly to this issue of the way clothes can change one’s identity than this movie, except perhaps the story of Cinderella. In this film a rich man played by Richard Gere hires a prostitute named Vivian to be there for him, to be his “companion” ...

Luke 10:25-37 Growing up, my world seemed pretty simple. Being religious meant being a Christian. I didn't know many Jews, Muslims, Hindus, or Buddhists. I didn't really even know anything about them. About as exotic as any of my friends got was being a Mormon. Today things are different, even if we don't always notice it. Mosques, synagogues, and Temples are everywhere. Just go two miles up Adams, and you’ll see a Hindu Temple under construction. Continue on up to Auburn Road and take a right, as you head toward Rochester Road, you’ll see two different mosques, one on the left and one on the right. Further down you’ll find an Albanian Catholic church, and then coming back down John R, at the corner of Long Lake, you’ll find a Romanian Pentecostal church. Turning right on Wattles, you’ll come to a Serbian Orthodox Church sitting next to Troy Athens High School, and then further on down Wattles, you’ll find a Croatian Catholic Church, a Greek Orthodox Church, a Jehovah’s W...

Galatians 5:1, 13-25 Today is the Fourth of July, a day that Americans set aside to celebrate the nation’s independence from British rule. Over the next few days, there will be parades, fireworks, picnics, and more, but, as much as we enjoy celebrating the freedoms we have as Americans, we come to this place and time with a broader sense of freedom and loyalties. I’m returning to the text I used last year for the Fourth of July weekend, because, like last year, I’d like to address the issue of freedom. This text from Galatians is foundational if we’re to understand what it means to truly be free – not as Americans, but as followers of Christ. The question before is simple: What is the nature of true freedom? The question maybe simple, but each answer to that question carries with it certain implications. Paul’s definition and its implications differ those of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson believed that freedom was a natural right, which was self-evident. Paul believed that true freedo...

Luke 9:51-62 The Life of Brian , a Monte Python movie from the 1970s, tells the story of a young man who just happens to have been born the same night and just a few houses down from where Jesus was born. Although Brian doesn’t want to be a messiah, he gets taken for one by the crowd, which is looking for a messiah. They’re not just looking for someone to throw out the Romans, after all, “what have the Romans ever done for us,” besides the aqueducts and the roads, they’re also looking for someone to tell them what to do. Even though Brian keeps telling the people that they have to think for themselves and that he’s “not the messiah,” something his mother confirms, telling anyone who will listen, that Brian is really a “very naughty boy,” the crowds keep coming to seek his wisdom. In the end, Brian gets the same treatment the Romans give to other would-be messiahs. He gets crucified – another contribution the Romans gave to Judea! Yes, even though Brian just wants to be left alone so...