Faith in Transitions (Sermon preached 11 June 2023)

About that story we all just heard in the reading from Genesis, where God tells Abram to leave country and kindred and go to a land that God is going to show him? Well, I have a question.

I know, I know, it’s a REALLY important story. It is the opening scene in the epic saga out of which the three great Abrahamic faiths will emerge. For Jews, Abram is the one with whom God initiates a unique relationship with Israel. For Muslims, Abram is the one who originates the chain of prophets that culminates in Mohammed. And for us Christians, Abram is the icon of faith who shows us what trusting God looks like.

 

Given all that, I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that it’s taken me this long to wonder about the other key person in this story. The one who is mentioned only in passing, but who God, in effect, also summons to leave country and kindred and go. I’m talking about Abram’s wife, I’m talking about Sarai. And my question is, what about her call? What about her faith? (read more)

An Even Greater Superpower (Sermon preached 14 May 2023)

Last week, the New York Times ran an opinion piece by David French, a political commentator who this past January became one of their regular columnists. Undoubtedly some of you saw it – the title was Politics Cannot Fix What Ails Us. And tagline was “Solutions to social problems lie close to home”.

In his article, French notes that there are multiple significant negative cultural changes underway in our country including falling fertility rates; rising teen depression and anxiety, an epidemic of isolation and erosion of people’s sense of belonging; and an overall loss of social cohesion. These negative changes are profound, and don’t seem to have clear political solutions. 

And he observes an emerging pattern. We rightly feel a sense of loss, wrongly turn to politics to fill the hole in our lives, and then grow increasingly frustrated when the political process invariably fails to live up to the expectations that we place upon it. French is convinced that the true answer to our cultural challenge is much more parochial and personal... (read more)

 

Finding Illumination (Sermon preached 23 April 2023)

It was on the last full day of our pilgrimage trip to Holy Land that we finally got to Emmaus. To Emmaus Nicopolis, that is – the Byzantine town that scholars have traditionally identified as the Emmaus of Jesus’ time. There are actually a few other possibilities, including one that surfaced in 2019, Kiryat Yearim, an ancient fortified hill town a bit closer to Jerusalem.

By then our group of 25 had been together for ten days, and had developed a happy, comfortable rhythm. We knew the way on foot from our home base at St. George’s Guest House into the Old City, and had visited some sites there. We’d been off and back on the bus in Bethlehem and the Kidron Valley, and seen the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Shrine of the Book. We’d spent three nights in Nazareth; hit a couple of spots on the sea of Galilee; taken the sky tram up the face of the Mount of Temptation; and checked out the cave where Jesus is said to have fasted and prayed for 40 days and 40 nights. 

And looking back, now, from the vantage point of this morning, it seems to me that everything we’d seen and experienced was being gathered up on that final day, when we arrived where this story we just heard takes place...(read more)

 

A Family Story of Healing (Sermon preached 19 March 2023)

How do we sort through that tangle of a story? It was hard enough to stay with it, right? Forty-one verses! Such a long story, and it’s complicated. 

It’s about an unsought healing. It’s about the blame game. It’s about the process and progress of conversion. It’s about how wrong-headed following the rules can be. It’s about how easy it is to confuse blindness and seeing.

I imagine John had all these things in mind, and more, as he crafted this account of an unnamed man’s move from one way of being in the world to another. And his hearers,  beginning with that first century community in which he lived and wrote, and stretching on down through the centuries to you and me – have been recognizing ourselves in this story, ever since.

Who among us has not, when we don’t know what else to do, thought that if we could just figure out whose fault a tragedy is, somehow that would make it better? (read more)

Listen to the Tempter! (Sermon preached 26 February 2023)

That conversation that we just overheard in this morning’s Gospel from the fourth chapter of Matthew? I’m betting it’s not Jesus’ first go-round with the Tempter. I mean, he’s thirty years old, according to tradition. Way past adolescence. In fact, with the average life expectancy what it was in first century Palestine, he is middle aged! Plus, he’s a deeply faithful Jew, steeped in the stories of his people: stories of God’s divine call, and faithfulness and mercy; of their human struggle, and failure, and disobedience.

And he has been preparing for his mission – God has been preparing him – for a long time. For years, Jesus has been listening and learning, studying and wrestling, on his way to becoming the prophet, teacher, healer and savior, whose impact on human history will be, well, immeasurable.  

Finally, he’s ready to go. He’s met John the Baptist. He’s waded into the waters of the Jordan, heard God declare he is the beloved Son, felt the Spirit fill him…and then take him into the wilderness for one more boxing match with the devil. One more reckoning with “the father of lies”...(read more)

 

You ARE Salt (Sermon preached 5 February 2023)

I’ve decided that I’m not going to really preach today – at least, not in the classic sense. I’m just going to do show and tell.

 

Does anyone know what this is? This is a salt cellar. It was given to me this past Christmas – I’ve never had one before, and now I’m so glad I do! So here’s what’s great about my salt cellar. It just sits on the counter – it’s very stable, hard to knock over. Open it up and you can take just a pinch or you can scoop out a whole tablespoon full – or more! It’s really easy to refill.

 

Now, I tend to take salt for granted. I’m not one of those people who craves it – give me sweet over salty any day. But in fact salt is truly amazing stuff. And a little goes a long way...(read more)

What Are You Looking For? (Sermon preached 15 January 2023)

What are you looking for? Now there’s a question! It’s a question that can be asked a lot of different ways. 

A salesperson approaches, shortly after you come into a store; or a family member catches you rifling through a drawer. “What are you looking for?” The question is friendly and helpful, a tad curious. A therapist or spiritual director asks it, or a close friend or spouse, and the question becomes more penetrating. “What are you looking for?”  I mean – what are you really looking for? Security? Recognition? Enlightenment? A fight? There can even be a hint of disbelief in the question. “What are you looking for?” As in, do you even know? Or, does it actually exist? Maybe you are on a wild goose chase!

What are you looking for? These are the first words that Jesus utters in the Gospel of John. And the ones to whom they are addressed were not exactly ready for them... (read more)