November begins with All Saints Day and ends in or near Advent, when we anticipate Christ’s coming again, It is fitting, then, that the readings today tell of the final resurrection and the end of time. In the turmoil of hope, fear, and disbelief that these predictions provoke us. Hebrews sounds a note of confident […]
View the Sermon (PDF)November 10, 2024, Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Widows are visible everywhere in today’s readings. Jesus denounces those scribes who pray impressive prayers but devour widows’ houses. He commends the poor widow who in his view gave far more than the major donors. Jesus doesn’t see her simply as an object of compassion or charity. She, like the widow of Zarephath who shares […]
View the Sermon (PDF)November 3, 2024, All Saints Sunday
All Saints celebrates the baptized people of God, living and dead, who are the body of Christ. As November heralds the dying of the landscape in many northern regions, the readings and liturgy call us to remember all who have died in Christ and whose baptism is complete. At the Lord’s table we gather with […]
View the Sermon (PDF)October 27, 2024, Reformation Sunday
Rooted in the past and growing into the future, the church must always be reformed in order to live out the love of Christ in an ever-changing world. We celebrate the good news of God’s grace, that Jesus Christ sets us free every day to do this life-transforming work. Trusting in the freedom given to […]
View the Sermon (PDF)October 20, 2024, Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
In today’s gospel, James and John asked Jesus to appoint them to sit at his right and left, in his glory. Jesus’ response, “You do not know what you are asking,” led him to teach that greatness is not achieved with worldly power and force, but only in becoming servant and slave of others. We […]
View the Sermon (PDF)October 13, 2024, Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
In today’s gospel, Jesus tells a rich man, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” Jesus’ verbs, “go, sell, give, come and follow” direct us toward lives of self-denial, self-giving, and discipleship to him. In […]
View the Sermon (PDF)October 6, 2024, Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Today’s gospel combines a saying that makes many of us uncomfortable with a story we find comforting. Jesus’ saying on divorce is another of his rejections of human legislation in favor of the original intent of God’s law. Jesus’ rebuke of the disciples who are fending off the children should challenge us as well. What […]
View the Sermon (PDF)September 29, 2024, Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Someone who wasn’t part of Jesus’ circle was casting out demons in Jesus’ name, and the disciples wanted him stopped. They appealed to Jesus, as Joshua did to Moses about the elders who prophesied without official permission. Both Moses and Jesus refused to see this as a threat. Jesus welcomes the good being done in […]
View the Sermon (PDF)September 22, 2024, Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Walking with Jesus, the disciples quarreled with one another about who was the greatest. Jesus taught them that in serving and welcoming even a child, they were also welcoming him and the one who sent him. We are given wisdom and strength, not for our own ambition, but to seek to do the will of […]
View the Sermon (PDF)September 15, 2024, Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
In today’s gospel, Jesus asks his disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter responded, “You are the Messiah.” Yet Peter did not understand, and so Jesus then taught the crowds and his disciples, saying, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” […]
View the Sermon (PDF)