Words of Welcome

  Philippians 2:1-13 It’s election season again. That means political ads bombard us day and night on TV, on the radio, on Facebook, and in emails. These ads remind us that we are a divided nation that seems unable to discern what is good and right. So, how do we heal this brokenness that afflicts our land? How might we find unity when our communities, our churches, and families, are so divided? It’s important that we remember that there can be no true unity without justice for everyone who has been denied justice.   While we may want to achieve wholeness in our broken world, we’ll have to start within the Christian community. We have to get our own act together or our witness will be diluted. That’s why Paul told the Philippians to conduct their lives in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ ( Phil. 1:27 ). Now Paul calls on this community he dearly loves to stand together and make his joy complete by being “of the same mind, having the same love, being in fu...

Rembrandt, Paul in Prison Philippians 1:21-30 Paul wrote his letter to the Philippian church from a jail cell, and yet the defining word for this letter is joy. We see this in Paul’s word of thanksgiving for the Philippian church: “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy for all of you” ( Phil 1:3-4 ). He’s grateful that he can share in their “progress and joy in the faith” (Phil. 1:25). Now, this joy isn’t rooted in their circumstances. After all, Paul is in jail and they’re suffering some form of persecution. Nevertheless, they’ve found joy in God’s presence. It’s for this reason that Paul can write: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice” ( Phil. 4:4 ). This joy that marks the letter is rooted in a spirit of friendship and affection.  Now, Paul does have a life and death dilemma. He’s ready to die and be with the Lord, and yet he knows he still has work to do. So, he declares: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain”...

  Romans 14:1-12 My favorite TV judge is Harry Stone from Night Court. Harry was humorous, friendly, and most of all, merciful. Oh, and did I mention, he was also something of an amateur magician? If I had to go to court, I’d like to stand before him. When it comes to playing the role of the judge ourselves, we tend to be more like Judge Roy Bean, the so-called hanging judge of the Old West, than Harry Stone. While we might enjoy playing the role of the hanging judge, Paul asks the Christians in Rome: “who are you to pass judgment on the servants of another?”  This community that Paul addresses here in Romans 14 seems to be divided over food and special days of the week. There is this one group that claims to be strong in the faith, and they’ll eat anything while the other group prefers to eat vegetables. This “strong group” also doesn’t pay much attention to particular days. They’re very free church. Paul has this way of coopting certain groups to get his point across...

Exodus 3:1-15 Moses was on his way to work tending sheep for his father-in-law. When he got to Mount Horeb, he noticed a bush burning on the horizon. Since that’s not an everyday occurrence, he decided to check out this strange sight. When he got to the bush, he heard a voice calling his name: “Moses, Moses.” And Moses replied, “Here I am.” Then the voice said, “don’t come any closer and remove your sandals because you’re standing on holy ground.”  When it comes to removing his sandals, Ron Allen and Clark Williamson comment that “to be invited to remove one’s sandals was to be welcomed. Moses is welcomed into relationship with God as God simultaneously draws an ultimate respect from Moses. Moses is no longer an ‘alien’ (Exod. 2:22) but a guest.” [ Preaching the Old Testament , p. 80]. Now, Moses is ready to hear the next word in which God declares: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”  As we contempla...

Romans 12:1-8 When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? What kind of life did you want to lead? Maybe you knew from a very young age what you were going to do when you grew up, but I tried on several possibilities in my mind. At one point I thought about being an oceanographer and then a photographer. Back in ninth grade, I took a class called “Self Understanding through Occupational Exploration.” One of the class assignments required visiting with people whose jobs we might pursue. I chose to visit an attorney and toured a radio station. I will confess that at one point I even thought about being a politician. As you can see, ministry wasn’t among my earliest aspirations. We tend to answer the questions about what should we do and who we should be in terms of our vocations, our jobs. Early in life children are encouraged to decide on a vocational path, but is this the only way to answer these questions? What if we thought in terms of Leading Liv...

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 ...

Genesis 32:22-31 It’s said that no one can see the face of God and live ( Ex 33:20 ) but there are exceptions to the rule. One of those exceptions involves Jacob, who saw the face of God but not until he participated in a wrestling match that lasted almost to daybreak. We catch up with Jacob, the son of Isaac, and grandson of Abraham as he prepares to cross the Jabbok to meet up with his estranged brother Esau. Jacob is an intriguing character. In fact, he’s something of a trickster. It all started in the womb when Jacob grabbed Esau’s heel so that he could emerge from the womb first. His parents named him Jacob, which can be translated as “He who grabs the heel” ( Gen. 25:26 ). That name is related to the Hebrew word that means “twisted” or “deceitful.”  Then Jacob defrauded Esau out of his birthright with a pot of stew. Now, as this trickster camps at the Jabbok, his past is catching up with him. He wants to return to his homeland, but that means facing his e...