Claimed, gathered and sent

This is what I preached last Sunday, Oct. 21, at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The gospel text was Mark 10:35-45 .  We need to go back a few verses to get the full impact of James’ and John’s request. Jesus said to the disciples, ” … the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles;  34 they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again” (vv. 33-34). This is Jesus’ third announcement of his approaching crucifixion, which ends at v. 34. Then we get to this Sunday’s gospel, beginning with verse 35 and the sons of Zebedee’s desire. We could call the first scene in today’s gospel “Be careful what you wish for.” James and John are among the inner circle of the disciples, along with Peter. They have had experiences with Jesus that the other 9 have not. James and John witnessed the glory of Jesus’ transfiguration, r...

This is the sermon I preached at S t. Timothy Lutheran Church on Sunday, 9/18. The scripture text is Luke 16:1-13 . What in the world is Jesus talking about in today’s parable? There is nothing easy to understand about it.                                                Is this an early example of a debt settlement offer? How ideal for our culture of consumers who are overspent, overextended, and stretched beyond reason. We ’ve probably all heard the ads on the radio or TV. “Call 1-800-BYE-DEBT and let us deal with your creditors.” They make it sound so easy. However, we all know there are no easy fixes and that if it sounds too good to be true, then it is. Money issues are complicated. Why does Jesus tell this story? Is Jesus praising dishonesty and r...

This past week was the most amazing Holy Week I have ever experienced. Considering I spent a number of them in the Holy Land, that's really saying something. I have never been so involved in the planning and participation of the services. Although I'm not yet a pastor, the experiences I've had during internship have whetted my appetite even more to be doing this for the rest of my life. According to Frederick Buechner, vocation is “the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet" With the tiredness, yet the high of Holy Week following me into this week, these words describe this job, work, vocation of serving God and God's people more than ever. I experienced this today as I made my weekly trek to Winchester, VA for physical therapy. It's an hour and a half drive one way. Winchester Hospital is just down the road, so I've been able to combine physical therapy days and hospital visits. Today's visits were especially poignant...

It's been a very long time since I posted. I've been juggling sickness and classes, but I think I'm back now. Here is a sermon I preached for my Preaching Mark class based on tomorrow's gospel text. The Holy Gospel according to Mark. “What did you say? What were you talking about?” Many of us have heard the all too familiar answer, “Nothing.” Of course that’s because the children know they have been caught. The disciples’ responded to Jesus ’ similar inquiry with silence, perhaps because they were ashamed, perhaps because Jesus had just been teaching them of his upcoming death and resurrection. And the topic of their conversation—who is the greatest? The setting is Capernaum in Galilee , Jesus ’ home base there, It is from this place he began his Galilean ministry according to Mark . This passage follows the Transfiguration and some healings. For the second time, Jesus teaches of his approaching death and resurrection. In verse 33, “ A...

Not only are we to keep alert for the coming of the Lord , but we need to keep alert to hold up and walk with our brothers and sisters in need. I want to thank Proclaiming Softly for her apt reminder. She issued an urgent prayer request for some missionaries in Nigeria. Having been on the other side of the ocean in Palestine, I learned that just because we don't hear of problems in our news doesn't mean they aren't happening. Please read Mary Beth's blog and pray for this family as well as others that put their lives on the line in service of our God. Lord in your mercy...hear our prayer.