Claimed, gathered and sent

Here are some thoughts about this Sunday's gospel text for Baptism of Our Lord. This was sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.   Gospel: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,  16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”    21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,  22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am we...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, Jan. 6, Epiphany at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The gospel text is Matthew 2:1-12 .  Now, this is a story we know. We’ve seen the scene of the wise men bringing gifts to Jesus so many times in so many pageants. Epiphany is a time when we celebrate the in-breaking of God’s light in God’s way. The Magi are drawn from the east to come and pay homage to the Christ child. There are many theories as to who the magi were: from Zoroastrian priests to astrologers to magicians to kings, while some believe that the Magi were simply a literary device utilized by Matthew. They may have been any or all of the above, but the point is that they were foreigners and gentile outsiders and yet, God spoke to them through a star, through the light and they followed that light.  Unusual astral phenomena were associated with the birth of a new ruler according to pagans of the time. There were Jewish traditions as well connecting the hoped-for Messiah...

Here are some ideas for the Epiphany gospel that I sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. Matthew 2:1-12 1In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ” 7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying...

This is the message I preached last Sunday, 12/23/18 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, for the last Sunday of Advent. The text was Luke 1:39-55. Today’s gospel is the story of the intersection of two women’s lives—that of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist and Mary, the mother of Jesus. The first part of the reading is the Visitation, where Mary visits  Elizabeth. Then we have Mary’s response to Elizabeth’s words, the Magnificat,which we’ll be concentrating on today. If you’ve ever heard or read the story of Samuel in the Old Testament, you may hear a similarity in Mary’s words to that of Hannah, Samuel’s mother.Hannah prayed, “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God. My mouth derides my enemies because I rejoice in my victory” (1 Sam. 2:1). Perhaps Mary was inspired by Hannah’s words.  One of the hallmarks of Luke’s writing is the frequency with which he refers to joy and the sheer number of songs, like the Magnificat that are through...

Here are some thoughts for Sunday, the 4th Sunday of Advent. These were sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.  SCRIPTURE FOCUS    Gospel: Luke 1:46-55   46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,    47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,   48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;   49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.   50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.   51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.   52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;   53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.   54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,   55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” RE...

Here are a few thoughts for Advent 3 that were shared via email with the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.  Second Reading: Philippians 4:4-7 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.  6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   This Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent, Joy Sunday. The reading from Philippians is very fitting for that theme. We will also experience the joy of the cantata, “The Light Before Christmas,” done by our choir.  Paul was in prison when he wrote these words and yet he was able to tell the Philippians to rejoice. There are many aspects of joy and many things that bring us joy. For Paul, it’s obvious that his rock-solid relationship wit...

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church on Sunday, 12/9/18. The text was Luke 3:1-6 We have in the very beginning of today’s gospel a list of 7 rulers of that time. Imagine these verses as a movie in which we see the known world, the center of which is Rome and we slowly zoom in – but not where we expect. Now , who of all of these does God choose? Emperor Tiberius-nope Pontius Pilate—nope Herod-nope Philip-nope Lysanius-nope Anna’s and Caiaphas-nope John…yep…wait…who? Once again, God chooses the most unlikely candidate in the most unlikely place. After all, Judea, in which were Jerusalem and Bethlehem, was a mere backwater of the world and John the Baptist was a nobody. But what God is doing through him will affect everything—even up to the emperor. In this list, we also have a foreshadowing of what was to come in Jesus’ confrontations with Annas and Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate. This, after all, is the world of a God who is completely involved i...