Ready to Bear Witness The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Where does power come from? The usual answers—family connections, reputation, possessions—are all rejected in this reading from Mark’s gospel. Jesus’ power is not only independent of his family connection—it is hindered by it. While it…
Jesus’ Power Is Enough The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Today’s story of two healings in a single reading appears to present a horrific choice: should Jesus hurry to the dying daughter of a rich man, or pause to heal an outcast woman? The urgency…
Who, Then, Is This? Our Only Help. The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. As the disciples set out together in the boat with the sleeping Jesus, a great windstorm arose so that the boat became swamped. As we set out in mission together in the…
The Mystery of Growth In elementary school, when children learn about plants they inevitably plant a small seed in a clear plastic cup and watch it grow. This helps as they learn the parts of plants: leaf, stem, roots. As we get older we get more sophisticated in our ability to explain the details of…
Baptismal Water Is Thicker than Blood Many, perhaps most, subcultures in North America affirm the belief that “blood is thicker than water.” Even when our commitment to family is too often served through hand-wringing sentiment over the so-called decline of the family or pandered to by politicians seeking to prove their “family values” credentials, we…
The Holy Trinity Our Amazing Life through Fearsome Death Holy. Glory. These words in the first reading and psalm testify to awe at God’s transcendent sovereignty, fearsome majesty, and infinite mystery. No mortal can see God’s face or hear God’s voice and live. The fear expressed in these readings is personal—a living mortal in awe of…
The Holy Spirit’s Groaning The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Few sounds capture a groan like birth pangs. It is the raw sound of life and birth as well as of pain. It is the guttural desire for the end of the waiting for what…
Move In Day The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Each fall is the perennial move-in day on or near college campuses. Legions of parents descend with carloads that include tiny refrigerators, Ikea furniture, electronics, area rugs, and posters. They unload the one they have birthed,…
Count Us In The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. God keeps the promise made to David to give him an everlasting throne. The angel tells Mary that God will give David’s throne to her son Jesus. She is perplexed by Gabriel’s greeting and by the…
Connected for Life The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. A parent stands at the bus stop on the first day of school with a kindergarten student. Another parent lingers in the doorway of a first-year dorm after unloading the final box from the car. These…