Tag: Future
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Did You Hear The One About The Rabbi And The Priest?
No, it’s not a joke. It’s a deep and growing friendship born of tragedy. A rabbi and a priest were brought together by gun violence. It is, as they say, “a club no one wants to belong to.” And yet it seems new members are continually being added. I joined the club on May 24,… Read more
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One Welcoming After Another – A Sermon On Matthew 10:40-42
Every Sunday we read the gospel – words on a page. But every now and then the words come to life. They take shape and form. The words become flesh and sometimes a new building. That’s what happened this past Thursday. A few of you and I gathered with more than one hundred others to… Read more
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We Have Some Decisions To Make – A Pentecost Sermon On Acts 2:1-21 And John 20:19-23
We have some decisions to make – as individuals, as a parish, and as a city. They are important decisions, not unlike the decision facing the disciples in today’s gospel (John 20:19-23) I say that in light of and specifically in reference to last Wednesday, May 24th, the first anniversary of the Robb School shooting.… Read more
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People Of The Light – A Sermon On The First Anniversary Of The Uvalde Shooting
It’s been one year. It’s been one hell of a … year. Some days I feel the intensity, the rawness, and the pain of what has happened and what we’ve lost like it happened just yesterday. Other days it feels like it’s been twenty-one years, even a lifetime. It never goes away. I suppose this… Read more
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Let’s Wait And See – A Sermon On Luke 2:22-40
“Now you are dismissing your servant in peace.” That’s what Simeon says in this evening’s gospel (Luke 2:22-40) after he took the child Jesus in him arms. Simeon’s experience of receiving and holding Jesus was one of being set free, let go of, released, dismissed, sent away. But from what was Simeon being set free… Read more
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Rethinking Repentance – A Sermon On Matthew 4:12-23
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” Jesus says in today’s gospel (Matthew 4:12-23) How’s that working for you? Who here has repented today? Anyone? No? Okay, well it’s still early, not even lunch time yet. Did anyone repent over the weekend? No? How about over the past week? No? Is anyone thinking… Read more
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What Are You Looking For? – A Sermon On John 1:29-42
“What are you looking for?” That’s the question Jesus asks in today’s gospel (John 1:29-42). We’re now two weeks into the new year and I wonder, what are you looking for in 2023? It’s been seven and a half months since the May 24th shooting. In what ways has that tragedy changed or challenged what… Read more
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Peace For Our Wolves And Lambs – A Sermon On Isaiah 11:1-10
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” John the Baptist announces in today’s gospel (Matthew 3:1-12). But it’s Isaiah in today’s Old Testament reading (Isaiah 11:1-10) who describes the kingdom. It’s Isaiah who gives us a glimpse of that kingdom. “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with… Read more
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Waking Up To The Unexpected Hour – A Sermon On Matthew 24:36-44
A few nights ago my wife Cyndy woke me and said, “Mike, turn over. You’re snoring.” I said, “I am? Really? I didn’t even know I was asleep.” That’s the thing about sleeping; we don’t know we’ve been asleep until we wake up. Maybe that’s why in today’s gospel (Matthew 24:36-44) Jesus tells us, “Keep… Read more