Claimed, gathered and sent

This past Sunday, 1/3, we observed Epiphany. I preached this sermon at St. Timothy Lutheran Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church. The scripture text is Matthew 2:1-12   What in the world is Epiphany and why do we celebrate it? Epiphany means "showing forth." It names the day that the church tells Matthew's story of the magi from foreign lands who follow the light of the star and "see" Jesus as Christ. This is important because this acknowledges that the greatest gift given by the God who comes down to be with His people, is to be shared by Jew and Gentile alike. The irony here is the wise men who were not Jewish scholars were the first to recognize the sign of the star in the sky and the importance of its meaning. It's commonly believed that the star would have also been seen in Jerusalem and Judea but somehow the Jewish scholars were asleep in the temple. Even if they saw it, they either ignored it or didn't look in the Jewish scriptures to find ...

This is the message I shared with St.Timothy Lutheran Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church on Christmas Eve, 12/24/15. The scripture text is Luke 2:1-14. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go..." Do we really miss the snow? Ray's hoping for orange trees to start sprouting in the front yard of the parsonage any day now. This is such a wonderful time of the year as we gather with family and friends. We love the music and the food and all those nostalgic things that make this time of year Christmas. Bethlehem and all its excitement with Jesus' birth seems far removed from our reality. We live in a world of materialism in which Christmas advertising begins around Halloween. By the time Christmas has arrived, we are already Christmased out. But don't let that stop you. There is good news here for us in tonight's gospel reading. Mary and Joseph too went home--they went to Bethlehem because of a decree issued by the...

 We are nearing the end of our Advent journey that takes us to Bethlehem. This is my sermon from the last Sunday of Advent, 12/20/15. I preached this at St.Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Luke:1:39-45. Think about how you would respond if a relative showed up at your door unannounced? Besides that, she was going to be staying with you for a while. Not only would she be staying with you, but she is young, maybe 14 years old, unmarried and she is pregnant! Would you welcome her in with open arms or would you grit your teeth, while you welcome her, thinking to yourself, "Don't go away mad. Just go away." Imagine how Elizabeth felt when Mary stood at her door. There Mary was--alone, young and pregnant.   In addition to that, Elizabeth's husband is a priest. How would Mary's situation affect his reputation? Today's gospel is imbued with divine revelation. Elizabeth and Mary demonstrate to us how to respond faithfully to God's guiding ...