The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. The Most Challenging Spiritual Practice The writers of today’s readings express to God their fears about death and those who do evil. They rage against the cravings, coveting, envy, and selfish ambition that lead to disorder and war, within…
In today’s gospel the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. When they questioned Jesus, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Gospel: John 8: 1-10 1while Jesus went to the Mount…
The Attraction of the Repellant Cross The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Two themes vie for attention in the readings: divine forgiveness (with attention paid to the human sinfulness that makes it necessary!) and the cross’s mysterious power. Jeremiah prophesies of God’s desire and ability…
Second Sunday of Christmas The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Reflecting the Grace of God In sharp contrast to the image of Jacob, who wrestles with an angel and prevails, in today’s first reading the Lord redeems Jacob from hands too strong for him. Jacob…
Reformation Sunday Know God, Know Ourselves This is a Sunday packed with beautiful images, deep-seeded ideas, and a rich history. For life-long Lutherans, these things can provoke a sense of pride in our denomination, but Reformation Sunday is not “Lutheran Pride Day.” Instead it is a day focused on knowing God truthfully and in the…
Gospel Matthew 16: 21– 28 After Peter confesses that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (16:16), Jesus reveals the ultimate purpose of his ministry. These words prove hard to accept, even for a disciple whom Jesus has called a “rock.” 21From that time on, [after Peter confessed that Jesus was the…
There Must Be Another Way The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Peter may be the “rock” on which Christ will build the church (Matt. 16:18), but when Jesus reveals the suffering that will come first, Peter becomes a tempter and “stumbling block.” Assuming God must have…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Life in Christ Includes Praise and Lament Though we may prefer to think of God giving us lives of joy and ease, a full life in Christ also includes sorrow and grief. To the extent we are willing to…
God Comes First. The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. God is, the theologians say, transcendent—beyond us, always exceeding our easy grasp. Recognizing God’s awesome transcendence brings a reevaluation of other values. The God of vertigo-inspiring infinitude is also the God who know the hairs of…
We may expect the religious insider to be blessed, the moral person to be right with God. But as is so often the case, Jesus’ parable for today sweeps away conventional expectations. Jesus surprises the disciples and us when he says it’s not the Pharisee but rather the tax collector, that morally suspect, second-class citizen,…