Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the message I preached Sunday, June 26 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church , where we had a wonderful baptism service. A tweaked version was preached at St. Mark. The scripture was Luke 9:51-62. In today’s gospel, Jesus has reached a turning point. Jesus being “taken up” refers to Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension. In Luke’s gospel, everything is now directed toward that end. Jesus’ path to be the Savior and Redeemer of the world is set.   Jesus had a single-minded orientation. He knew that the way to Jerusalem meant the way of the cross and his death. Luke uses the expression, Jesus “set his face” to describe his determination. This expression is so important, that it appears three times in the first three verses of today’s gospel: Jesus “set his face” (51), Jesus sent messengers to Samaria ahead of him, which literally means “before his face” (52) and Jesus face was set toward Jerusalem” (v. 53). This expression is an idiom that speaks of a firm, unshakable r...

It's been a while. I was off on the 12th. Now I will be posting the sermon from the 19th today and from the 26th tomorrow. This is the sermon I preached on Sun., June 19 at S t. Timothy Lutheran Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church . The scripture text was Luke 8:26-39. Look at this gospel passage. It's full of all kinds of images that are hard to understand, let alone believe: a man with demons, living naked in a cemetery, demons going into pigs and pigs jumping off a cliff into the Sea of Galilee, which is a little bigger than our Lake Chautauqua. As we should all know by now, our Lord Jesus is always going into odd, forbidden places so that outsiders of the faith become his followers. In this lesson, Jesus, is breaking down boundaries that keep people from faith and healing. Jesus' very presence in the area of the Gerasenes was just one of the boundaries broken. The residents were people that the Jewish people had little, if anything to...

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 sermon I preached on Sunday, May 29 at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran Churche s. The scripture text is Luke 7:1-10. We have begun the time of the church year that is symbolized with the color green. It is called ordinary time, not because it is every-day, but because the weeks of this time are numbered. As many have said, "Ordinary time is anything but ordinary." The green season is a time for us to grow in our faith. As we grow, God will bring us people to share our faith with as we go along in the duties and pleasures of our everyday lives. Throughout this time, which can be most extraordinary, we will be concentrating on the works of Jesus in Luke's gospel. We are in this green season so that we can grow and go to share the good news. A lot of coming and going takes place in this story in Luke. Jesus had finished with the beatitudes, and was once again on the road. Note that Jesus did not seek out the centurion. Jesus was approached while he was on...

Sunday, we had healing services at both St. Timothy Lutheran Church and at  St. Mark Lutheran Church i n Mayville. It is a part of our liturgy which I always enjoy. We do this whenever there's a fifth Sunday. A few came forward at St. Timothy and it was a significant time for folks whether they came forward or remained in their seats. When we began this part of the service at St. Mark, nearly everyone that I laid hands on threw there arms around me and many said that they needed to pray for me. They had tears in their eyes. The Holy Spirit fell and visited us in such a special way. Nearly everyone came forward for prayer and God's presence was with us in such a sweet way. Reflecting back on that time, the words of Michael W. Smith's song, Healing Rain came to mind. Along with that there was the thought that the tears that were shed on Sunday were God's healing rain of tears. Here is the You Tube of Healing Rain. I am asking for your prayers as well. I have fou...