Tag: Presence
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Keeping Our Appointment With Life – A Sermon On Luke 2:22-40
“Shut up. Suit up. Show up.” Those six words are the daily mantra of a psychologist named James Hollis. He says them to himself as he rides the elevator down to his car each morning. (Hollis, Living Between Worlds, 132) With the first he’s telling himself “to stop whining and complaining” (Ibid.). It’s his recognition Read more
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Stepping Into The Gap – An Ascension Day Sermon On Acts 1:1-11
One minute Jesus was standing with and talking to his disciples. They can see him. They can hear his voice. And if they had reached out they could’ve touched him. The next minute, “he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.” (Acts 1:1-11) I have no idea how that happened Read more
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It’s Just One Thing After Another – A Sermon On Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
Do you ever have days when you just go from one thing to the next? Sometimes they are planned appointments or errands. Sometimes they are interruptions of your plans. And often it’s both in the same day. That’s the kind of day Jesus is having in today’s gospel (Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26). And it started even Read more
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What Is Absent From Your Life? – An Epiphany Sermon On Matthew 2:1-12
What if the experience of absence and the accompanying longings and desires are the beginning of an epiphany for you? What if that sense of absence is the star of your life by which God is revealing God’s self to you? And what if your sense of longing and desire is really God’s longing and… Read more
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The One Among Us – A Sermon On John 1:6-8, 19-28 for Advent 3B
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… Read more
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“I just needed to be reminded.” – A Sermon on Mark 13:24-37 for Advent 1B
“We didn’t do it that way when we were kids.” “This isn’t the America I remember. It’s not like it used to be.” “The world is a different place these days. It’s changed.” “This isn’t the church I grew up in. I don’t know what happened to that church.” “Back in my day….” “This isn’t… Read more
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Ears Are a Gateway to the Heart
Psalm 78:1. “Hear my teaching, O my people; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.” Several years ago, I spent a summer participating in a pastoral care internship. As the summer progressed, I realized I was really doing an internship on learning to listen. I came to understand that listening is essential for Read more
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When A Loved One Dies – A Funeral Sermon on John 14:1-6
I need you to trust me and work with me on what I am going to say next. It won’t seem true but it is. Brian’s love, his life, and his presence are as real today as before he died. I know it doesn’t look like that and it sure doesn’t feel like that. I… Read more
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Silence, the Way Home
The 14th century Sufi poet and mystic, Rumi, wrote, “Return to the root of the root of yourself.”¹ His words remind me that I often live on the periphery or circumference of life, disconnected from the root of my being and existence. To “return to the root of the root” of myself means returning to Read more
Interrupting the Silence 