Maybe the greatest barrier to seeing the divine presence among us is that we already have an idea or image of who that one is or should be and what that one should look like and do. In other words, we think we know and we stick with what we think we know. We can't see the one because he or she does not meet our expectations or fit our categories of who he or she can be. Sometimes, we don't see the one among us because he or she stands outside the box of our beliefs. And more often than not we see and hear in such a way that it only confirms what we already believe.
Tag: John the Baptist
Comfort For The Displaced – A Sermon on Mark 1:1-8 for Advent 2B
In what ways are you living as a displaced person? What parts of your life feel uprooted and disconnected? What is your displacement? "Comfort, O comfort my people," are God's words to displaced people. Isaiah first spoke those words to people exiled in Babylon, people whose lives had been uprooted. Those same words come to the displaced people of God today. In some way the prophetic word is always directed to displaced people. And we long to hear those words of comfort. We want to find our place. More than anything displaced people want to be a placed people.
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A Positive Decrease
John 3:29b-30. "For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease." I wonder what John the Baptist’s disciples are thinking when they hear him talk about becoming less. Their numbers are decreasing, and Jesus’…
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Beauty, Hope, and Repentance – A Sermon on Matthew 3:1-12, Advent 2A
Matthew 3:1-12, Advent 2A If last week’s gospel (Matthew 24:36-44) called us to wake up and be watchful of the worlds within us and around us, then this week's gospel (Matthew 3:1-12) calls us to respond. “Repent, for the kingdom of…
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What Then Should We Do? – An Advent Sermon on Luke 3:7-18
“What then should we do?” That question is at the center of today’s gospel. It has its origin, however, in last week’s gospel and John the Baptist’s call for repentance. Today’s gospel (Luke 3:7-18) is the continuation of last week’s…
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Repentance, Responsibility, and San Bernardino – An Advent Sermon on Luke 3:1-6
Repent. Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight. Valleys shall be filled. Mountains and hills shall be made low. The crooked shall be made straight. The rough ways shall be made smooth. By themselves those words have…
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Advent, A Season of Uncategorized Life – A Sermon on John 1:6-8, 19-28
Most of you have heard enough of my preaching and teaching to know that when it comes to either/or questions my default response is “yes.” Is it this or is it that? Yes. This isn't about playing a game, being…
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Advent, A Season in the Wilderness – A Sermon on Mark 1:1-8
The wilderness, John the Baptist, preparing the way of the Lord. They are three major images in today’s gospel, Mark 1:1-8. They are three signposts on the Advent journey. They are three windows into our heart. I want us to…
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Recognizing the One Who is to Come – A Sermon on Matthew 11:2-11
"Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another” (from Matthew 11:2-11, Advent 3A)? That doesn’t sound like the guy we heard from last week. So what’s happened to John the Baptist? Last week…
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Too Content to Repent? A Sermon on Matthew 3:1-12, Advent 2A
“Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (From Matthew 3:1-12, Advent 2A). Those words drew the people to John the Baptist. The people of Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region along the Jordan went to him. I wonder…
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Interrupting the Silence 