SERMONS
Called into the deep water
You, like Simon, have been called to say no to empty promises and you have been transformed by the mystery of the holy one in the deep and abundant water of God’s grace and mercy.
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.
Live And In Person
But maybe there’s more. An Epiphany of grace for us when we are spent. And it seems there isn’t enough. God transforms our ordinary lives. Water into wine. We catch a glimpse of what really matters. We grasp a God who appears, live and in person, in our story. In our bodies. In our flesh. In the bread and wine of the eucharist. In our joys and in our sorrows. Even in this persistent pandemic.
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.
An Adult Christmas
What is the Christmas message for us, especially this year? Sometimes the blue of Advent feels more authentic. A world still waiting. Longing for justice and healing to dawn on a world filled with inequities, cynicism, and confusion. Hoping against hope.
With our pristine manger scenes, it is easy to overlook that in the scriptures God’s people seem to always be dealing with slavery or living in exile . . . with foreign occupation or siege. Nothing about the first Christmas is ideal for Mary and Joseph. The timing is off. The birth messy. The political context unstable.
What kind of greeting is that?
We don’t always see that “best” these days. Sometimes the stress brings out the worst in us. With the pandemic rates surging again, many wonder whether they should visit one another this Christmas. And what is our greeting amid the fear, confusion, impatience and grief we carry? Even “how are you” is a complicated question, right? The promised one is among you this day, greeting you with a tender embrace, greeting you with words of forgiveness, words of hope, words of perseverance.
The Holy One assures you that you are highly favored, treasured by God. Nothing in all creation can separate you from divine love. Not even pandemic, or climate change, panic or exhaustion.
Something is Stirring
“My words will not pass away” This is our zipline folks. This is when we jump off the ledge of the world we know and are carried off, being held by this enduring factor. The word made flesh that lives within us and sustains us through our most apocalyptic moments and stirs within us holy anticipation of what is to come: The kindom of heaven.
Christ's Kin-dom Now
And on Christ the King/Reign of Christ Sunday, we are reminded that we are invited to be active participants in Christ’s kin-dom now, not go to a promised one in the future.
Time Change
This year I learned that even as the leaves drop from trees as they are doing right now, the buds for next spring have already appeared.
Sighing and Crying
We also take time to remember those whose lives passed with little notice - miscarriages, the homeless, those without close family or friends, the half million plus who have died of COVID who are numbered but not named individually here today. In doing so, we point out the expansiveness of God’s promises. Saints, to us, are not just those who have lived exceptionally holy or good lives. They are not just those who have been canonized by the Church or have icons in our space. Instead, this day we embrace the reality that, recognized as saint or not, people deserve to be remembered.
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.’