SERMONS
Loss and Grief, Healing and Hope
That is the core of this day, one of my favorites on our liturgical calendar - a day that acknowledges the reality of death … but doesn’t end there.
You Don't Need to Check Your Mind at the Door
None of this is easy. Don’t check your brain at the door. Embrace the questions. Pray for an open mind and an open heart. Seek to love God and neighbor.
You don't have to worry about where you sit.
What James and John fail to understand is that service in the kin-dom of God is not a second class means to a first class end. Service is the end. Service is abundance. Service is power. Service is glory.
Are you Rich?
Are you rich? If a child asked that of an adult after stepping into their home or onto their boat, their parent would probably quickly try to shhhh them and redirect the conversation or apologize. It’s not polite to talk to others about their wealth. But we sure are fascinated by it, aren’t we? No matter how well off we might be on our own, we are drawn to what other people have that we don’t. A home, owning a home instead of renting, owning a bigger home, owning two homes. Or cars, boats, vacations, the newest gadgets, or electronics. Maybe its just part of our human nature (or American nature) to want more. To long for something better. To yearn for what we do not have.
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.
You're Doing It Wrong!
You’re doing it wrong! We may not always be so blunt or direct, but we express this sentiment in varied ways all the time. Whether we’re cursing the driver next to us or thinking about a colleague's work habits, or when a teen is providing helpful technology advice to an adult; often the underlying tone is, ‘you’re doing it all wrong.’
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.
The Power of Naming
AS CHILDREN WE USED TO SAY “STICK & STONES MIGHT BREAK MY BONES BUT WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME.” That just not true! Words have transformative power.
Coming to our senses
What will it take for us to come to our senses? Demanding individual freedom but then adopting the strictest abortion laws in the land. Wanting a president—or the party in power—to fail so much that you’d rather die than get vaccinated or wear a mask. Believing whatever you hear on a trusted television network and turning to snake oil instead of lifesaving vaccines.
Is Religion the Problem?
Harvard University’s new chief chaplain is an atheist who says “we don’t look to a god for answers, but to each other.” Is humanism the answer and religion the problem? Consider a new book about white Christian evangelicals in this country. Jesus and John Wayne describes the dangers of an Americanized, individualized Christianity wedded to military might, patriarchy, and authoritarianism. How do this Sunday’s texts speak to these issues?
What Rules?
There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with the rules we set up, arbitrary as some of them might seem. Some rules are actually quite helpful and not arbitrary at all - like wearing a face mask in order to protect our neighbors. But I’m wondering about the rules that we establish - idolize even - that might get in the way of what really matters.
From Me to We
Who are we as a people, when our faith is tested? Who are we when it is tiring to believe? Who are we when we stand on stolen land and at the very same time try to live as a people that are commanded to care for our neighbor as ourselves?
Our Lady of Good Trouble
In Mary’s ‘yes’ to be God bearer for the world, she sings a song of gladness and revolution focused on God’s greatness and God’s action. And if we dare to follow Mary on the journey from contemplative to prophetic witness, a time will come when we too will have to break through the culture’s silence and speak out publicly for God, siding with God, proclaiming God’s greatness, announcing God’s saving action and denouncing the violence that insults the God of peace.
What's for dinner?
If only I’d known that parenthood involved the daily, dreaded question, “What’s for dinner?” EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. From the time they were born needing to be fed every two hours, to the toddler years when we didn’t dare go out of the house without packing a variety of snacks, to the school years chaotic mornings feeding them and preparing for lunches too. Now with three teenagers in the house, we are often eating on the run, on our way to or from baseball games or choir rehearsals.
What is it?
What is it? It’s my favorite line from the story of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. How quickly they forget that they were slaves in Egypt. That life was hard. They’re longing for the meat and the melons and the fresh baked bread they had there. And they do what we do, right. They complain. They whine. They murmur against Moses. You brought us out here to die. We detest, we despise this miserable desert food, like cactus soup every meal. Take us back to the good old days!
Sermon 7/25/21: Impossible? Possible. (Seminarian Jonas Ellison)
Jesus shows us that God is not in the fix-it business. God is in the resurrection business. Where we see limitation and lack, Jesus sees abundance. May we trust the work of God that breathed life into the moon and stars. Who pulses the heart in your chest, even while you sleep. Who sent planets and galaxies spinning into motion… All out of nothing. Newness is coming and God is here.
Sermon 7/18/21: "To Be" Lists (Pr. Craig Mueller)
A “to be” list starts with grace. You are of worth. Simply for who you are. And Christ the shepherd is not like the other power-hungry leaders. He breaks down the walls that divide us. And gives us courage to vulnerable with ourselves and one another. The Risen Christ sees your loneliness. Your stress. Your longings. And looks with compassion on you and all the needy of this world.
Sermon 7/11/21: Saving a Life or Saving Face? (Pr. Michelle Sevig)
We may not turn into prophets like John or Amos, but we are ordinary people called to deliver an extraordinary message. In the letter to the Ephesians read today, Paul names the new believers as God’s blessed, God’s chosen and God’s adopted children. It's kind of like a pep talk that coaches give to their players just before sending them back into the game that seems like a lost cause. Yet we are sent back into the game after worship each week to proclaim God’s inbreaking reign to all the powers that profess to rule this world. And we do not do it alone. God loves us enough in our brokenness to entrust us to be the body of Christ in the world. To share God’s love and light with others and to receive that same love and light through others when we need it most.
Sermon 7/4/21: Hometowns, Homelands, and Beyond (Pr. Craig Mueller)
So many different hometowns all looking down on those who think differently. Jesus rejected by his hometown folk. Where does this lead? Jesus seems to get on with it and invites us to do the same. He sends out disciples. He goes about his business of teaching, healing and proclaiming the good news. Some will reject it. Yet Christ sends us forth this day, to live our faith in word and deed. Honoring and praying for the country we love, indeed. Yet pledging our ultimate allegiance to divine grace that embraces all people and all the countries of the world.