Claimed, gathered and sent

This Sunday we will be celebrating Epiphany. The text below is the one I'm preaching from. What are your thoughts about this text? Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12 1In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:  6‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;  for from you shall come a ruler   who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ”   7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then he sent t...

This is the sermon I preached on Christmas Eve at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Luke 2:1-20. On a long winter evening, we gather to proclaim the coming of the light. Isaiah announces that the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Paul reminds us that the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all. In this familiar account of Jesus’ birth, the evening sky is bright with the heavenly host singing, “Glory to God in the highest.” Amid our broken world, we proclaim that the prince of peace is born among us. (Sundaysandseasons). After all the shopping, cleaning, cooking and preparing and after trying to make ends meet; keeping a distraught family together, struggling to get a job and worrying about a loved one serving overseas—after all the stuff that makes our lives crazy—the short, simple, peaceful word that we are of infinite value and worth to God is perhaps just what we need to hear tonight. We long and hope that God will counter the ch...

This is the sermon I preached for Blue Christmas, Sunday 12/22/19 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The Bible passage I used was Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 .     The people of Israel were in a really bad way. Psalm 80 is a psalm of lament, the psalmist’s response to the trouble. Diving together into the psalm, we will find comfort. The feelings expressed mingle with our own as we allow God to be with us in our sufferings, when we are blue. I’m not trying to put anyone on the spot, but is there anyone here who has never suffered pain and sorrow at some time in their life? If so, I’d like to see your hand. That’s what I thought. This psalm is one of communal lament. People broke with their normal routines, assembled at sanctuaries, offered sacrifices, lamented their distress and pleaded with God to intervene on their behalf. Psalms of lament follow this pattern: God We have a problem Why have You allowed this to happen to us?        ...