“A sermon is set in the context of worship. I think of it as a communal conversation, where voices from the life of our community—its struggles, its celebrations, its sorrows—come together with voices from Scripture, from Christian tradition, from the wider church, including its scholars, and from various other secular and sacred readings come together. It is my role as preacher to weave these voices together, including my own, offering up the conversation to the workings of God’s Holy Spirit, and then to make the conversation “public.” So, these sermons are out context. Nonetheless, you are welcome to listen in on the conversation!”
“Choose This Day”--November 9, 2008These two vivid texts, from Joshua and from Matthew, are “on the brink” texts–each is told on the brink of entering into the Promised Land, in Joshua’s case, and on the brink of the new age, in Matthew’s case. Each one demands a decision, for our future depends on it....
[Read More]“God’s Children Now”--November 2, 2008We Protestants are a little nervous about saints. Who are these people and what do they have to do with us?! The whole process of beatification and sanctification that the Roman Catholic Church goes through baffles us and maybe even seems a little like the ecclesiastical version of People Magazine, lifting up holy celebrities, if you can put those two words together....
[Read More]“First Things First” -- October 26, 2008A few years before Jesus was born, the great Jewish Rabbi Hillel was challenged to teach all of Torah while standing on one leg. (And you thought the ancients had no sense of humor!) The wise rabbi’s response, delivered while poised on one foot, was “What is hateful to you do not do to others. The rest is commentary, now go learn.” ...
[Read More]“Pitching the Tent” -- October 19, 2008The people of God have been ignoring the warning of the prophet Nathan for close to 25 centuries. When King David finally settled into his new house in Jerusalem, he confided to Nathan the prophet that he was a little uncomfortable about having this great house of cedar while the ark of the Lord was housed in a tent....
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