Claimed, gathered and sent

These are some thoughts on this coming Sunday's readings. This month we are celebrating the Season of Creation. John 1:1-14 1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2  He was in the beginning with God. 3  All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4  in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. 6  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7  He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8  He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9  The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10  He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11  He came to what was his own, and his own peop...

This is what I preached on Sunday, 7/29 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Ephesians 3:14-21   Imagine a sermon in the form of a prayer, that consisted of only two long sentences (which is the case with the Greek). If we think of the letter to the Ephesians as a sermon, since it is a message, and there in the midst of this letter to the infant church, Paul prays. He prays for the congregations. He knows that he is unable to give them what they need in the face of struggles that lie ahead. Paul knows too, that being the church is not a self-help project. The church has to learn to rely on God, not themselves. So what exactly does Paul pray for? In the opening, Paul emphasizes the unity of humankind under God…” from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name” (vv. 14-15). Every means every—no one is excluded. This sums up what has been the chief argument of the first half of Ephesians, that in Christ Jews and Gentiles have been brought together to ...

Here are some thoughts on this Sunday's second reading. This was shared electronically  with God's people at St. Timothy Lutheran Church .  Ephesians 3:14-21  14  For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15  from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, 17  and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18  I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19  and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20  Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21  to him be glory in the ch...

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church on Sunday, July 22. The text was Ephesians 2:11-22. Don’t we all at one time or another wonder about who we are, what is our purpose in life and what we can do to make a difference? This passage in Ephesians speaks to the issue of identity. We have the identity of the Jews and Gentiles and who we are all together in Christ. With the terminology of strangers, aliens and citizens, this passage seems to especially have bearing on our lives today in the United States with the various challenges we face. Paul wanted to make sure that the Ephesians remembered their former state. Twice he tells them to “remember,” first that they were Gentiles by birth and secondly, in metaphor-laden language, Paul describes them as being “without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,…strangers…having no hope and without God in the world” (v. 12). They had been alienated from the Jewish people and their God. The Ephesians’ ci...

This is the reflection on the text I'm preaching on this Sunday. It went out in our weekly e-ministry to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. Ephesians 2:11-22 11 Remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision”—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— 12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. 15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, 16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body th...

This is the message I preached to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The gospel was Mark 6:14-29. Right before today’s gospel lesson, Jesus’ disciples were sent out to preach, teach and heal. Following today’s gospel, they return telling Jesus of their exploits. What’s in the middle?—a seemingly out of place, gruesome story of Herod’s flashback to the beheading of John the Baptist. This is another Markan sandwich, with a rather unpleasant filling. Jesus had become known, which we would think is a good thing, however, there are consequences to this. Once the disciples started preaching, knowledge of Jesus increased. Jesus’ followers were not doing works in their own strength or authority, but by the authority given to them by Jesus (v. 7). However, there is fallout from the disciples’ successful campaign.  A question of Jesus’ identity came up. Herod was spooked and thought Jesus was John raised from the dead, which is odd since they were contemporaries. This...