In this Advent season, a voice in the wilderness calls out, “Prepare the way of the Lord!” joining the prophets and calling us to righteousness.
View the Sermon (PDF)December 1, 2024, First Sunday of Advent
Advent is about the “coming days.” God’s people have always lived in great expectation, but that expectation finds specific, repeated enunciation in the texts appointed for these four weeks. The ancients anticipated a “righteous branch to spring up for David.” The Thessalonians awaited “the coming of our Lord Jesus with all the saints.” Jesus’ contemporaries […]
View the Sermon (PDF)November 24, 2024, Christ the King
Even after Israel had experienced the vagaries of kings, the people still longed for a true king to set things right. He would have the king’s title of Anointed One (Messiah); he would be the “one like a human being” (Son of Man) given dominion in Daniel’s vision. Jesus is given these titles, even though […]
View the Sermon (PDF)November 17, 2024, Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
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 […]
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