Spoken or unspoken, I think there’s a question every troubled heart is asking. Will the center hold or is everything collapsing around us? That’s my question and maybe it’s your question too. I think it’s one many are asking. And today Jesus answers, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Continue reading Recentering Life – A Sermon On John 14:1-14
Jesus says that he is the gate. Gates open and close. Gates keep sheep in, and thieves and bandits out. Gates close to death and open to life.
I’m attracted to the gate metaphor because it fits what is happening in our country, our state, our town, your life and my life. I’m talking about reopening. Continue reading The Question of Reopening – A Sermon on Psalm 23 and John 10:1-10
The Second Sunday of Easter – John 20:19-31 Every year I come to this day – the Second Sunday of Easter – and I wonder what difference last Sunday – Easter Sunday – has made. Are our lives and world different because of Easter and, if so, how and in what ways? Look around. What do you see? Has your life changed? Are you living … Continue reading Easter Unlocked And Opened – A Sermon On John 20:19-31
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
It echoes in here when I say that, sort of like it might in an empty tomb.
Most everyone is at home, keeping to themselves. Anxiety is in the air. There are no overflowing crowds celebrating Jesus’ resurrection. People are not showing up dressed in their Easter finest. There are no fancy dresses or hats. There are no “eggstravaganzas” or kids gathered with Easter baskets. Friends and family are not sitting down together for a big Easter feast. It’s been a time of turmoil, chaos, and loss. People are shaken, as if by an earthquake. The future is unknown and uncertain. Continue reading Easter Happens – An Easter Sermon On Matthew 28:1-10
Jesus’ resurrection is a call insisting you and I give existence to more life, whether for ourselves or another. We are the ones to continue the story of resurrection. We are the ones to give concrete existence to resurrection. Continue reading Giving Existence To More Life – A Sermon On John 21:1-19
This is your resurrection. This is your Easter. This is your feast day. And that is true for every one of us here. Regardless of who you are, what you’ve done or not done, what has or has not happened in your life, what you believe or don’t believe, the promise remains, hope abides, and the call persists. Continue reading A Promise, A Hope, And A Call – A Sermon On Luke 24:1-12 For Easter Sunday
The music of Gene’s life did not end at his death. Though we might be able to name the day and maybe even the hour of Gene’s death, he never knew that moment. He simply moved from this life to a new life. The music hasn’t ended, the key has changed. And that means we must learn to listen in a new way. We must listen with the ears of our hearts. Continue reading The Music Hasn’t Ended, The Key Has Changed – A Funeral Sermon
Proper 23B – Mark 10:17-31 “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” I wonder what drove the man to Jesus. I wonder what was going on in his life that caused him to run to Jesus, kneel down, and ask his question. What’s the desperation behind his question? What’s his desire? We could speculate about him but chances are there have been … Continue reading A New Day, A New Life – A Sermon On Mark 10:17-31
Some losses are irreparable. The time is ruined. The suffering cannot be redeemed. There is no gain from this pain, no view long enough to eventually say, “It was worth it,” nothing that can compensate for what has been taken. And that’s okay. I do not want a salary for my suffering, I want salvation from it. This irreparable loss, this ruined time, this unredeemable … Continue reading Irreparable Loss
I suspect we all live with our own version of what is and what isn’t possible. And most of the time we live our life based on what we consider to be possible. We consider the range of possibilities and then we make a decision, choose a direction for our life, take our next step, all within the boundaries of what is possible. But what if the impossible can be made real? What if the impossible really does happen? What if the impossible is possible? Continue reading The Impossible Made Real – A Sermon On John 20:19-31
