Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the message I shared with the people of St. Timothy on Sunday, 11/11/18. The text was Mark 12:38-44. Ahhh…a passage like this is music to the ears of all those involved in church finances. Here we have the selfish scribes pitted against the generous, sacrificially giving widow. Jesus lifts the widow up as an example of how we should give, doesn’t he…or does he?  This incident occurs at the end of Jesus’ public ministry. Other chapters include incidents that point to the corruption of the Temple and the growing opposition of the religious authorities to Jesus. The scribes’ habitual behavior as a group gets severe criticism. But beyond the scribes’ actions, are the desire to do such things. It is the scribes’ inward desires and wants that are the ultimate issue. The Jewish community was centered in its regard for God’s Law, Torah, its interpretation and application. The scribe was an important and duly honored person. However, their practices were pretentious: str...

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran Churches on Sunday, 6/5. How many of us enjoy going to a parade? Did you go the Memorial Day parade? Doesn't being at a parade make us feel like children again? Today's gospel describes a meeting of two parades —one of life (Jesus, and the crowd of followers) and a parade of death—(the dead man, his mother and the grieving crowd). Just what happens when these two parades meet? The parade of life   was on the move from Capernaum to the small town of Nain. Before they made their way into the town, they could hear the commotion before seeing the parade of grievers. Middle Eastern people do not mourn as we do. Their mourning is loud and passionate and may well be healthier than the way we try to be strong and not let our emotions get the best of us. One would think that in the parade of mourners, which is a funeral procession, the focus would be on the loved one who died. Of cour...

This is the message I preached last Sunday, 11/8 at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran Churches. The text was 1 Kings 17:8-16. Fear is a powerful motivation in our world. Fear is used by politicians to obtain our votes, by the media to get our attention, by advertisers to sell us what we don't need. It's even used by TV evangelists to get our donations. What are some of the fears we face? One is scarcity, others could be hunger, thirst, loneliness, infirmity, homelessness and war. Scarcity can be described as the fear that we won't have enough or won't get our share. This false belief that having more money and stuff will save us, actually makes us slaves. Often, having less can free us to live by faith. The book of 1 Kings narrates history with the theology that God will bless the righteous and punish those who are unfaithful to the covenant. This is the promise that God will be the God of the Israelites and they will serve him and him alone. The prophe...