“Jesus left Nazareth,” it says, “and made his home in Capernaum by the sea” (Matthew 4:13). Jesus makes a home. He settles into a community for a while. Probably making and selling some furniture, since he’s a carpenter after all. Maybe he builds a few barns, boats, a house or two. Soon the neighbors start… More
Sermons
Worship is more than preaching. Each worship gathering draws from the wealth of gifts of the community. We have rotations of volunteers who share the responsibilities of preaching, song leading, and service planning. We take turns reading the assigned Scripture readings for the day. The high point of our worship is our time for response and sharing. Since we believe that anyone can offer an interpretation of the Bible, we provide time in our worship for people to offer their own reflections on the Scriptures and the sermon.
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Who needs an epiphany?
[This sermon was prepared for January 8, 2017, but icy streets kept us from worshiping that day. It was given on January 15.] When Neftali gave the sermon about two months ago he was careful to make sure that the words of the Bible passage could be understood by the children in the mid-years of… More
Mary, our theologian
“Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Her heart. We glimpse Mary’s heart in our Bible passage today. A glimmer of her inner life, of what she thinks about, of what will flash through her thoughts over the years, the thirty-three years, as her child grows from infant in… More
Undone
Advent 2 John appears near Jerusalem, with bugs in his teeth from his locust meals, with the wild in his eyes, howling at the world to repent. A voice crying out from the wilderness, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 3:2). Something happened to John the Baptist, drawing him into the… More
Advent at night
Advent 1 Sometimes, in the morning, when I’m waking up, I find myself in a dream world where everything is as it should be, a world without pain and sorrow, a world full of joy and peace: swords turned into plowshares, spears into pruning hooks. And even though I know I’m waking up, I want… More
Shepherds Who Shepherd
Today is “Reign of Christ” Sunday, a fact that feels both timely and unsettling. This Sunday comes around every year, one moment in the cycle of time Christians inhabit, before we circle back into Advent once again. But this year, today, the world looks different. This is neither the first nor the last time preachers… More
Nation against nations
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. Dreadful portents. Signs from heaven. This part of the Bible, this passage from the Gospel of Luke, is called “the little apocalypse.” The word apocalypse means unveiling, uncovering, revelation, the truth exposed. The day after the election, in the neighborhood up the hill from our house,… More
Gratitude has made you well
“As Jesus entered a village, ten lepers approached him, keeping their distance” (Luke 17:12). These ten people aren’t even called people. They aren’t even acknowledged as human beings. They are called lepers. They are known as lepers. Their identity is leper. They are sick with a disease that made them outcasts. But, with Jesus, the… More
Tears becoming words
Last week during Sunday School, one of the kids asked a question that I’ve been thinking about all week, especially during a week like this one. We asked our class of 6 and 7 year olds what they wanted to learn about this year, what questions should we wrestle with—curiosities about God, about church, and… More
Break the chains
Jeremiah, chapter 32, verse 2: “At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guard.” The people are in captivity. Jeremiah is under arrest. There is no hope. On the horizon, as far as the eye can see into the… More
Life-giving debt
Mary Oliver’s poem, entitled Moments, makes me think of this week’s gospel text. Let me read it for us, and we’ll see what we can see: There are moments that cry out to be fulfilled.Like, telling someone you love them.Or giving your money away, all of it.Your heart is beating, isn’t it?You’re not in chains,… More
The burden of care
When I looked over the scriptures for this week in preparation to preach, I found that the Exodus passage and the Luke passage presented an astonishing juxtaposition. The Exodus scene has God downright disgusted by the Israelites he led into the wilderness. The Israelites, perhaps out of impatience and boredom, created a golden calf to… More
Let mutual love continue
Opening prayer: “Eternal Spirit, Draw us together in this hour and help us to expand the circle of those whom we reach in love.” The author of the book of Hebrews is unknown, so much so that some scholars do not even have anybody to suggest. However, it is nonetheless carefully and deeply argued. Consider… More
Do not be afraid, little flock
12th Sunday after Pentecost This week’s texts are forward looking in different, if overlapping ways, and so I attempted to a certain extent to consider them together. In Genesis, Abram laments that he and Sarai remain childless together; he is unhappy with his present situation, and names his discontent before God. God promises a different… More
Beauty endangered
Psalm 82 July 10, 2016 Two verses from our Psalm have been on my mind this week. First, verse 7: “You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince” (Ps 82:7). And second, verse 8: “Rise up, O God, judge the earth;… More
Redeeming Betrayal
Have you ever wondered why the president of the Ku Klux Klan is called an Exalted Cyclops? Or how a white supremecist could be redeemed? Or how anything good could come from betrayal? Or how any of this has to do with Naaman? Me too. A couple weeks ago, a local civil rights leader in… More
Prayer to the God of our life.
Why are you bent over, O my soul? Why are you moaning within me? Put your hope in God, for I am still going to offer praise, my help and my God…By day the Lord directs his love, at night her song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life. (Psalm 42:5, 8)… More
Pulse: para las mariposas
A verse from our Psalm: “You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.” ~ ‘‘Mommy I love you” Eddie Justice sent his first text to his mom at 2:06am. ‘‘In club they shooting.’’ ‘‘U ok.’’ ‘‘Trapp in bathroom’’ “Pulse. Downtown. Call police.’’ ‘‘I’m calling them… More
The Compassion of Christ
1 Kings 17:17-24Psalm 146Galatians 1:11-24Luke 7:11-17 I’m guessing Jesus could hear the funeral procession long before he saw it.Nothing compares to the primal soundof a mother who’s on her way to bury her child—something no parent should ever have to do.And this, her only child.Not only that—her only family,having already buried her husband.She’s a widow.And… More
Stand in Grace
Trinity Sunday – May 29, 2016 I’m preaching on the Romans text today, which feels a little weird, given the joyous embodiment of the gospel in the sermon the children preached together last week. Now here I am, setting out to talk about a passage on justification. Such a heavy word. Still, I hope that… More
The Spirit that bends
Pentecost Sunday I. It is Pentecost Sunday, and I find myself up here in front of you, expected to say a word. To utter sentences that might provide comfort, clarity, insight…that speak truth derived from the passages read just few minutes ago. I find myself asking, why did I not look at the schedule earlier… More
I DESIRE
Jesus desires. He insists on himself. At least, this is the Jesus we find in our gospel reading this week. This Jesus knows what he wants, and he pleads for it, our mother hen longing to gather us in, for her beloved to be with her where she is. Jesus yearning for the pleasures of… More
Clean
When his friends found out that Peter was eating with gentiles, he told them a story, the story of his revelation from God. Peter explained it to them step by step. The key line is verse 9, after Peter tells God that “nothing profane or unclean has ever entered [his] mouth.” Then it says, “But… More
The Adhan and Ma’an lil-Hayat
Revelation 5:13, “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing…” Psalm 30:4, “Sing praises to the Lord, O you faithful ones, and give thanks to God’s holy name.” Last week I stayed in a refugee camp in… More