Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 1/28 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Mark 1:21-28 So far in Epiphany, Jesus has been revealed as the King of the Jews, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, the Messiah, a preacher and one who calls disciples. Today we have learned that he’s a teacher and exorcist and we hear a new title, the Holy One of God. Today’s gospel takes place in Capernaum, Jesus’ base of operations. Although Nazareth was his hometown, Capernaum was his base. On the screen, you see ruins of a synagogue in Capernaum from the 4th or 5th century, A. D. It is built on the foundations of a 1st-century synagogue, likely the one from today’s gospel. It is one of the few places today in the Holy Land where you can be where Jesus had actually walked. Capernaum was also where Peter was from and there are ruins of his house there as well. Now we need to change gears to have a better understanding of this story. Let’s talk about food! How do we eat sandw...

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church on Sunday, 2/21/18. The text was Mark 1:14-20 .                                                      Ok, I know I’m not the only one who thinks there’s something fishy about today’s gospel. Are we to really believe that these four prospective disciples would instantly drop everything and follow Jesus—and do this at night, since that’s when fishing took place to get the fish to market while they were fresh.   Jesus came to Galilee with the message, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near” (v. 15). This does not refer to the regular tick-rock, minutes and seconds kind of time, but God’s time—the opportune, royal time of God’s action and activity. God is getting involved. The kingdom of God language evoked Israelite memory of a time of political independence. G...

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran churches on Sunday, Jan. 14. The text is John 1:43-51 . There is a cycle of discipleship that causes the church to grow: First is Jesus’ invitation to follow him, followed by the invitation to come and see. Then we are told what we will see, which is akin to receiving teaching and growing in faith. When this cycle is perpetuated and reproduced over and over in the lives of Christ’s followers, the church grows. This may sound a little crass, but it’s like the message on a bottle of shampoo: lather, rinse, repeat. In today’s gospel reading we see the lather, rinse, repeat of discipleship. First, we have Jesus’ invitation to follow him. Jesus found Philip. Philip didn’t search high and low for Jesus. We cannot find Jesus. He isn’t lost, for one thing. Jesus finds us. After finding Philip, Jesus says, “Follow me.” That’s good enough for Philip. “What is not obvious is the mysterious, inward, hidden work of God i...

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran churches on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018. The text was Genesis 1:1-5.   I’m sure most of us, at one time or another, have watched Sesame Street—either as children, or with our own children or grandchildren. One of my favorite things on the program is when they show a number of images and ask, “Which one of these is not like the other ones?” Well, I must say that those words came to me as I looked over the scripture lessons for today I understand how the gospel story of Jesus’ baptism and the story from Acts regarding baptism fit together, but Genesis? That seemed to be the one thing that was not like the other things. Let’s see if we can get a handle on the creation and how it relates to the Baptism of Our Lord. Have you ever seen an image from the Hubble telescope? I recently saw one that contains around 10,000 galaxies, including some that were not visible in previous imaging. It was so beautiful and was suc...

This is what I shared with St. Timothy Lutheran Church in our weekly eministry. It is my thoughts about the upcoming scriptures for this Sunday, the Baptism of Our Lord. Genesis 1:1-5 1In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. REFLECTION I’m sure most of us, at one time or another, have watched Sesame Street—either as children, or with our own children or grandchildren. One of my favorite things on the program is when they show a number of images and ask, “Which one of these is not like the other ones?” Well, I must say that those words occurred to me as I loo...

This is the sermon I preached on Christmas Eve at St.Timothy Lutheran Church and at the combined worship service of St. Paul's Episcopal Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church . The text was Luke 2:1-14 . During Advent and Christmas, we are presented with the idea that Christmas is a magical time and anything is possible because after all, it is Christmas. We see this in television shows and the movies, especially the schmaltzy Hallmark movies that many of us love. But our personal reality is often quite different. This is a time when people suffer from depression, from their first Christmas without a loved one, from illness, you name it. For many, it isn’t all magic and happiness. 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...