Sermons

Epiphany 5C “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” When you heard that passage read a few moments ago, did you look around for the wedding couple? Just as the 23rd Psalm – “the Lord is my...

Epiphany 4C They looked just like any other couple. A slightly older man with a younger wife, carrying a new baby boy, about six weeks old. Just like hundreds of other faithful Jewish couples at the Temple in Jerusalem, following Jewish law by presenting their first...

Epiphany 3C Those who are preaching this Sunday were given an embarrassment of riches from which to base a sermon. We have Jesus in his first recorded public teaching in Nazareth, giving what in essence is his inaugural address, setting forth his vision of the kingdom...

Epiphany 2C (MLK) The year 1963 was a tumultuous one in this country. Issues of civil rights dominated the news, beginning in January when George Wallace was sworn in as governor of Alabama declaring, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” That...

Epiphany You may have noticed some changes when you walked into church this morning. The most obvious are the two stars on display – one in the back of the church hanging over the baptismal font, and the other on the beautiful banner hanging in front of the church....

Christmas 2018 It is good to be gathered here with you on my favorite night of the year, the night that we celebrate the birth of a baby who will change the world. Everything about this evening is special – the music that our choirs and instrumentalists have practiced...

Advent 4C I read a column in The New York Times this week about the phenomonon of on-line churches. The author was not talking about churches that live stream services for members who are not physically able to come to church. Instead, she was making observations...

Advent 3C When I looked at the scripture readings for this week I was reminded of a game from Sesame Street. Four objects would be shown on the screen while one of the characters sang these words: “One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just...

Advent 2C We hear today from the beginning of the Gospel of Luke, the gospel that gives us the most beloved stories of Jesus’ birth – the angel’s visit to Mary announcing she will have a son, Mary’s beautiful song of praise in response to that startling news, the...

Advent 1C Today is the first day of Advent, the beginning of a new year in the church calendar. We have spent the last six months in what the church calls “ordinary time,” that long period between Pentecost, 50 days after Easter, and the First Sunday of Advent....

Thanksgiving 2018 The calendar gives us an unusual gift this year. More often than not, Thanksgiving weekend is also the First Sunday of Advent. Most of us are still eating leftover turkey when the church shifts liturgical gears into the season of preparation for the...

Proper 28Ba This fall in adult Sunday School we have looked at what it means to be a Christian in the age in which we live. We’ve talked about what we believe, and how those beliefs compel us to act in the world. We’ve talked about some hot button issues – misogyny,...

All Saints’ Sunday It has been a week of mourning and remembering. When we gathered together in worship last Sunday, the horrific massacre of 11 Jews in Pittsburgh, gunned down while they worshipped, was so new and so raw we didn’t yet know the names of those who died...

Proper 25B Jesus and his disciples are leaving the town of Jericho when suddenly there is a loud commotion on the side of the road. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus is yelling at Jesus, pleading with him for help. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” he shouts...

Proper 24B When I was in college in the mid-1970s, my friends and I had a sacred Saturday night routine. No matter what we might do earlier in the evening, at 11:30 we gathered together in front of the television, ready to watch our favorite show, the then new...