4/12/15
I’d like us, for a moment, to consider a scenario. Imagine that someone you trust—a friend, a family member, a mentor, whoever—is a scientist. A brilliant scientist, in fact. Imagine that this brilliant scientist friend of yours has been working for three years to find a cure for cancer. So many people are touched by cancer in some way—including, I’m sure, some of you—that this would change the world. If anyone can find such a thing, it’s this person, but if you’re being honest with yourself, you think it’s too good to ever be true. When this person tells you that she will discover the cure, even though you trust her entirely, you have trouble believing her.
Now, imagine that you’re sitting at home, thinking about your mother or father or sister or brother or friend who is battling cancer, when another friend calls you. He excitedly tells you that the scientist you love has done it; she’s found the cure for cancer!...Now, as wonderful as this sounds to you, you can’t allow yourself to believe it, because you just can’t bear to be disappointed. If it’s true, your life will change; but if it’s not, you’ll be devastated. You might feel many things at that moment: confused…hopeful…angry...excited…incredulous…
What about…doubtful?
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Sermon: Holy Monday, John 12:1-11 (March 30, 2015)
3/30/15
Do you ever feel like the Revised Common Lectionary gives us the most difficult texts to wrestle with over Holy Week? I’ve found that my faith is never challenged quite as much as it is during Lent, and especially during Holy Week. I suppose if you passively let the scripture wash over you without making an effort to actively engage it, you could downgrade this classification from “difficult” texts to merely “confusing,” but I think that approaching Scripture in this way, especially during Holy Week, is doing ourselves and our faith a great disservice. I think we’re supposed to struggle with it.
Do you ever feel like the Revised Common Lectionary gives us the most difficult texts to wrestle with over Holy Week? I’ve found that my faith is never challenged quite as much as it is during Lent, and especially during Holy Week. I suppose if you passively let the scripture wash over you without making an effort to actively engage it, you could downgrade this classification from “difficult” texts to merely “confusing,” but I think that approaching Scripture in this way, especially during Holy Week, is doing ourselves and our faith a great disservice. I think we’re supposed to struggle with it.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Sermon: "Up, Up, and Away!" Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:14-21 (March 15, 2015)
3/15/14
Like a good movie director, our faith tradition makes generous use of symbolism. We talk about so many complex ideas that it’s virtually impossible to understand our faith without drawing parallels to our everyday life. When we appeal to our human senses, we’re able to convey aspects of the divine that don’t necessarily translate directly. For example, as I’ve said in the past, every single phrase that we use to describe God is necessarily a metaphor, because we can only truly understand the totality of God’s identity through human approximation. Describing God as a mother hen in Matthew 23, for example, goes a lot farther towards our understanding than just saying that God protects and loves us.
Like a good movie director, our faith tradition makes generous use of symbolism. We talk about so many complex ideas that it’s virtually impossible to understand our faith without drawing parallels to our everyday life. When we appeal to our human senses, we’re able to convey aspects of the divine that don’t necessarily translate directly. For example, as I’ve said in the past, every single phrase that we use to describe God is necessarily a metaphor, because we can only truly understand the totality of God’s identity through human approximation. Describing God as a mother hen in Matthew 23, for example, goes a lot farther towards our understanding than just saying that God protects and loves us.
Sermon: "Garden or Clockwork?" John 1:1-18 (December 28, 2014)
12/28/14
Merry Christmas!
So I know I might be preaching to the choir here, so to speak, but I feel like my first responsibility as a pastor is to remind you all that this is not the first weekend after Christmas, but the beginning of the actual liturgical Christmas season, which lasts until Epiphany on January 6th. It’s really easy for us, as Americans, to buy into the idea that Christmas begins the day after Thanksgiving and ends on December 25th. But as Christians, we know this isn’t the case. Our culture often looks at December 25th as the culmination of something. But our God isn’t about endings. Our God is about beginnings.
Merry Christmas!
So I know I might be preaching to the choir here, so to speak, but I feel like my first responsibility as a pastor is to remind you all that this is not the first weekend after Christmas, but the beginning of the actual liturgical Christmas season, which lasts until Epiphany on January 6th. It’s really easy for us, as Americans, to buy into the idea that Christmas begins the day after Thanksgiving and ends on December 25th. But as Christians, we know this isn’t the case. Our culture often looks at December 25th as the culmination of something. But our God isn’t about endings. Our God is about beginnings.
Sermon: "Taking the Second Step", Matthew 14 (August 10, 2014)
8/10/14
Today, we get to talk about Peter. St. Peter, if you’re so inclined. We all know him as somewhat of a Christian heavy-weight, right? One of Jesus’ closest friends, the leader of the early Church, and the first-ever pope, many people consider Peter to be one of the most important figures in Christian history.
Today, we get to talk about Peter. St. Peter, if you’re so inclined. We all know him as somewhat of a Christian heavy-weight, right? One of Jesus’ closest friends, the leader of the early Church, and the first-ever pope, many people consider Peter to be one of the most important figures in Christian history.
Sermon: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Luke 6:37-45 (July 27, 2014)
7/27/14
As potential Disney movies go, Victor Hugo’s novel, Notre-Dame de Paris, known in English as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, is not generally the first work that comes to mind. I read the book back in Middle School, and the one thing that I remember about it is how gloomy, violent, and depressing it was. But, for whatever reason, someone working for the Mouse decided in 1996 that this novel was going to be the inspiration for the next big children’s blockbuster. Disney took dramatic creative license in the retelling of Hugo’s work, toning down most of the darker themes and giving the story a classically “Disney” ending in lieu of the “everybody dies” technique preferred by Hugo.
As potential Disney movies go, Victor Hugo’s novel, Notre-Dame de Paris, known in English as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, is not generally the first work that comes to mind. I read the book back in Middle School, and the one thing that I remember about it is how gloomy, violent, and depressing it was. But, for whatever reason, someone working for the Mouse decided in 1996 that this novel was going to be the inspiration for the next big children’s blockbuster. Disney took dramatic creative license in the retelling of Hugo’s work, toning down most of the darker themes and giving the story a classically “Disney” ending in lieu of the “everybody dies” technique preferred by Hugo.
Labels:
Disney,
Gospel,
Luke,
New Testament,
Sermon,
Sermon series
Sermon: The Lion King/The Prodigal Son, Luke 15 (June 29, 2014)
6/29/14
Disney movies have been central to most American childhoods ever since the debut of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. And as any parent whose child has recently seen Frozen can attest, they often infiltrate adult lives, as well. The characters are as familiar as members of our own families: Winnie the Pooh, The Little Mermaid, Buzz Lightyear and Woody, not to mention Mickey, Minnie, and the rest of the gang. Each one has a special place in our hearts. Even the most fantastical of them speak truths that resonate in our lives. And so, when Disney speaks, we listen.
Disney movies have been central to most American childhoods ever since the debut of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. And as any parent whose child has recently seen Frozen can attest, they often infiltrate adult lives, as well. The characters are as familiar as members of our own families: Winnie the Pooh, The Little Mermaid, Buzz Lightyear and Woody, not to mention Mickey, Minnie, and the rest of the gang. Each one has a special place in our hearts. Even the most fantastical of them speak truths that resonate in our lives. And so, when Disney speaks, we listen.
Labels:
Disney,
Gospel,
Luke,
New Testament,
Sermon,
Sermon series
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