SERMONS
Are you a pray-er?
Not a piece of bubble gum. Not a shiny toy. Or a new car. Or the love of our life. Though sometimes life brings these things. But what we receive is the presence of God. The assurance that we are not alone. The promise that life is worth living. And that from suffering will come new life and resurrection.
The "Good" Samaritan
So let’s bring back the shock value of this parable! Saying the Good Samaritan is the one who was neighbor to the one in the ditch is like saying the good immigrant, the good Muslim, the good you fill in the blank of which group is opposite from you, who you distrust, consider bad or suspicious.
Shake it off
That doesn’t sound like shaking off other people. Maybe the Spirit is calling us to something different: not shaking people off but shaking things up.
Outsiders Who Get It
And when they actually paid attention to those voices, things changed for them. Naaman washed his leprosy away. God’s grace found its way across established boundaries of ethnicity and ego alike.
No law against loving your neighbor
At that time 35 years ago, my pastor was not pro-choice. Most of my peers had never talked about it and would have considered themselves anti-abortion if asked. But that’s the problem when only given binary options. It’s either/or and there’s no room for gray, for nuance, for understanding and compassion.
God's freedom
You see, if we expand the definition of “possession” to include everything that conspires to keep us dead when God wants us alive, everything that keeps us bound up, when God wants us free, then this ancient story is not an oddity about a crazy demon-possessed naked man, but it is a reflection of our own lives. We too seek freedom from all that torments us. And like the healed man we find freedom (or salvation) in the presence of Jesus. Because there is no death-dealing power in this universe that can withstand the saving, healing, resurrecting power of Jesus.
What time is it?
Listen again to the scripture Leon chose, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Leon trusted this promise that no matter what season in life he was in, nothing would be able to separate him from God’s love in Christ Jesus.
A Blurry Blessing
What about the scars that you and I carry? Our response to life’s hardest moments may be a kind of blur for us, but there is a blessing there as well?
A Wonder to Behold
This day we behold the wood of the cross. We gaze upon the One whose suffering brings hope to our dying world. We behold the suffering of those in Ukraine. We behold those suffering in our city. We behold all those with broken hearts, broken bodies, troubled spirits.
The Last Bath
This does not mean that Kay’s heart is not breaking. Or that it is unbearable to hold her mother as she vomits, or to watch helplessly as Thelma struggles to swallow even one sip of water. “This does not mean that Kay does not hate the death her mother is dying. It means that when her mother pours water over her throat and neck, Kay can hear the echoes of the waters of her mother’s baptism” and the dignity of each and every body created in the image of God.
The Stones Cry Out
The stones cry out that loss is lifted high. That love triumphs. That life is stronger than death. May this passion be ours as well.
Lost and Found
And, I wonder, if Jesus sat among us now, if he would tell us other stories.
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.
Wilderness Happens
We are not alone in our wilderness either. We do not encounter life’s wildernesses without remembering the waters of baptism still on our foreheads.
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.
And yet, today is holy to the Lord
Most importantly, God is present in the midst of it all. Present in the sorrow, with them in the lament, active in their rejoicing and celebration. God’s word–living and active–holds all of this, allows all of this. And when the time is right God transforms the entire encounter into an experience of joy.
Esablishing Residency
A barn harbors heaven, and straw like gold shines, indeed. But your dwelling is also holy. Your house, your condo, your apartment. Your body shines as well. And all the diverse bodies on this body we call mother earth. The trees and the stars shine. All things bright and beautiful.
A Story from the Lost Years
And right now, when so much seems at a loss in the world, that is good news. God, Emmanuel, is not lost at all, but is right here with us in the midst of it all. Seeking us out. Giving us hope for a new dawn. Feeding us at the table of mercy and grace.