Claimed, gathered and sent

  This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy on Sunday, 3/4/18. The text was 1 Cor. 1:18-25. I’m wearing new earrings today, each with a cross hanging from it. We see lots of people wearing crosses around their necks, from their ears, as bracelets. 2,000 years of usage as a positive religious symbol, as decoration and as jewelry have dulled the impact of the words “cross” and “crucify.” For the Romans, crucifixion made an example of those who disturbed the peace of Rome. This punishment was for revolutionaries, terrorists, the worst criminals and slaves. It was something people turned their eyes away from. The believers at Corinth were a mess. There was in-fighting, immorality and other problems. Some valued intellect to the point that their understanding of the gospel was narrowed. Their stress on wisdom and knowledge had created elitism in the church. The Corinthians had questions about how to live their lives and how to function as a church. Their situati...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 2/25/18 at St. Timothy. Lutheran Church.  The text was  Mark 8:31-38.  Immediately before today’s gospel reading, Jesus had asked his disciples who people say that he is. This is where the light went on for Peter and he made the confession, “You are the Messiah” (Mark 8:29). Peter certainly gave the right answer and was likely thinking of the attributes given to whoever would be the Messiah. The Messiah, people thought, would deliver them from the crushing rule of the Romans. The Messiah would fight their enemies. Basically, the Messiah was a strong king-like figure. But, now Jesus fleshes out for Peter and others what that is going to look like. They were completely unprepared for the reality. “Jesus began to teach them” (v. 31). Hadn’t he been teaching the disciples all along? Maybe, but this was different. This wasn’t teaching about miracles and healing. This is the turning point in Mark’s gospel, marking a ne...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 2/18/18 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The gospel text was Mark 1:9-15 .  This has been a hard week. Once again our hearts have broken as we heard the news of violence and death at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. We wonder how long will this insanity go on? Why doesn’t someone do something? What can be done? Some would say that gun control is the answer. Others suggest arming teachers and other authority figures in the schools. There are so many issues that surround the continuing horror with no simple explanation or solution. On some level, we have all been touched by this. And in the midst of it all, we may wonder where God is and why did God allow this to happen? God does not force people to do the right thing. We have our own wills, as do those who commit such horrendous acts. Don’t even suggest that “everything happens for a reason,” because that just isn’t so. However, one thing I can assure you...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 2/11/18 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text is Mark 9:2-9 . The other night, Ray and I were watching the old tv show, “The Twilight Zone” on Netflix. The story was about a man from the 1800s, Wild West, who was suddenly transported to 20th century, downtown Manhattan. At night, he was surrounded by cars with horns blaring, buses, bright neon lights flashing and so on. It was more than he could stand and he nearly went out of his mind. What if the scene were reversed? What if someone from our time found him or herself as a witness of Jesus’ transfiguration? We can explain so much in our world—from volcanoes to northern lights to germs and disease transmission. What do we do when we are confronted with something so amazing, otherworldly and unexplainable? Three of the disciples went with Jesus to a high mountain. This tips us off that something big is going to happen. Throughout scripture important revelations happen on mountains...