SERMONS
150th Anniversary of the Congregation - Bishop Yehiel Curry
The view from the enclosed balcony was breathtaking. Boats quietly traversed through the green waters where the Pacific Ocean meets the sea of Cortez. It was about 80 degrees, the sun was shining, and there were no clouds visible. On this day, I was about to do something I had never done before.
What can you believe anymore?
What would Easter mean if it wasn’t just something you believe in your mind? It would be encountering God as mystery. It would be opening your hearts to something beyond yourselves. It would be letting the blossoming buds and flowers be your spiritual guides.
If you are bewildered by trying to make sense of these times and what is has to do with God. If you struggle with your faith and what you believe, there is a place for you here in this community. Together, we explore the questions of faith. We experience the resurrection through community, through acts of justice, through music and art and beauty.
Come and See
You are called to a lifelong relationship with God. In the waters of baptism, you were called to see that the Holy One is with you and loves you more than you could ever imagine. You are called in all the places you work, study, and play to stand up for justice. To stand up for truth. To trust that the Holy One is with you.
Who do you say that I am?
If we’re honest, we are probably more like Peter in his misunderstandings and foibles, than we are like Peter in his proudest moment in today’s gospel. Yet Jesus embraces us just as he does Peter. He continues to call his church together to proclaim God’s love, to forgive and be forgiven, to gather week after week around this holy meal. And as his followers, we continue to baptize and teach, feed the hungry and welcome the stranger, and call forth and encourage the gifts of one another. So that our whole lives are rooted in the identity given to us in baptism, “Beloved Child of the Living God.”
Unconventional Saints
This morning, surrounded by photos of our dearly departed who were also blessed in this life, we remember that God sees us. The Holy One knows the losses and struggles that weigh us down. The exhaustion from caring for others. The disappointments at home, work or school. The worry about a loved one who is ill or preparing to die. God sees us and honors us. God blesses us and accompanies us.
Sorting People
For God is not a sorter like we are. Rather we have the sort of God that always surprises us with mercy. And forgiveness. And a new beginning. At the baptismal font. At the table. And in the world.
Being Seen
There is a basic human need to be seen and known. Chasms between the rich and the poor, the hungry and those who feast sumptuously, the un-housed and well housed still exist today. Seeing the other is a big deal. We are called to acknowledge their presence, their needs and gifts. And above all, their status as children of God, worthy of respect and dignity.
You are God's delight
What if we each knew and believed and trusted that God loved us (and all of our neighbors even the hard to love ones) so very much that it made God laugh with delight to see us, to hold us, to squeeze us tight? I can’t help but think that such a thing would change the world.
Choosing love
Loving as Jesus loves, is a call to be the ongoing, visible presence of God in the world. Choosing love, even when love is hard to come by. Extending love even when people are unlovely.
Second Chances
The gardener, though, is in it for the long haul. Give it another year. Fertilize it. Put some life-giving manure (holy you-know-what) around it. Wait and see. Give it another chance. After all, growth happens slowly. In nature. In ourselves. In the pursuit of justice.
We Should Be Very Careful
I wonder, Is it like a scriptural math equation where x amount of wealth multiplied by Y amount of mourning equals…? Does our misery cancel our comfortability out? Or wonder, are we getting caught up in the binary and missing the point?
Playing Favorites
Now remember. The Nazareth folk were good people. They thought they knew their hometown boy, Joseph’s son! But now he is talking like he has a chip on his shoulder. God doesn’t play favorites? You mean we’re not better than Gentiles? [or insert appropriate word today.] And the people. Are. Peeved.
Are You Related?
We are related. We are one with the earth. We are one with the plants and animals—including the pets in our home. All creatures great and small, especially and sadly those named as extinct in the past week’s news, as extinct. Saint Francis thought of creation as kin, as family. Mother earth. Brother sun. Sister moon. Christians go so far to proclaim a Triune God who is relational by its—or shall we say—their very nature.
The Center of Attention
But it’s radical, too. We are initiating our children into a counter-cultural way of life. We are committing ourselves anew to a different kind of greatness. One that finds its purpose in serving others. One that sees the face of God in those the world excludes. One that acknowledges that life is full of heartache, loss, and suffering. One that stands with others in their pain or questions or grief.
Sermon 3/14/21: "I'm So Glad" Pr. Kelly Faulstich (Resurrection Lutheran Church)
God’s strength and presence with and love for of all creation, for the cosmos, the world, this community, our congregation, also includes us, you, child of God. God’s strength and presence with and love is for you too, right now wherever you are or however you are. Whining about the wilderness or giving thanks for what’s in your world today, Asking questions late at night or confident on this Sunday morning, Really living into Lent or feeling a little Easter joy creeping in, Hopeful or fearful or angry or glad, You are part of this world we hear about in the gospel that God so loved and that God so loves.