Claimed, gathered and sent

Here are some thoughts on this Sunday's gospel. This was sent electronically to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. I would like to have a conversation with you about this. What thoughts do you have on this gospel reading?   Luke 14:25-33 25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he i...

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church on Sunday, 9/1/l9. The text is Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16.  Hebrews presents quite a picture for us in our second lesson. The framework of the picture is mutual love; meaning the building of solidarity in relationships. This is played out in the actions the church is called to. For love to be mutual, it must happen in community. The church is the community of mutual love. Hospitality is the first action within the framework of mutual love. Can you imagine the people you extend welcome to being angels? You might think of some people being that, but others? This recalls the Old Testament example of Abraham’s hospitality to three visitors (Gen. 18:1-5), who ended up being angels with a message for Abraham. Who are the angels of our time? Could they be immigrant children or those who have been bullied or victims of racism or other isms? Could our angel be a political or theological opponent with whom we pause long enough...

Here are some thoughts on this coming Sunday's second reading. This was sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. I'd like your input. Let's brainstorm.  Second Reading: Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 1Let mutual love continue. 2Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. 4Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. 5Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” 6So we can say with confidence,   “The Lord is my helper;   I will not be afraid.  What can anyone do to me?”   7Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Creation, Universe Sunday., 8/25/19. I shared this with the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Colossians 1:15-20. Today we celebrate universe Sunday. The image of the Cosmic Christ stresses that Christ’s lordship is an eternal presence through time and space, encompassing all of Creation in the ultimate fulfillment and consummation of God’s will for the cosmos. The text from Colossians was probably a hymn in the early church, one that preceded Paul, which he used and added to. There are two parts of this hymn, the first regarding Christ and his role in creation. The second concerns Christ and his role in the church. As we consider Christ and his role in creation, we see a number of words that are repeated, the most frequent of them being “all.” It appears eight times in this short passage, and it says it all. Christ is “the firstborn of ALL creation,” the one in whom “ALL things have been created,...

This is the sermon I preached last Sunday, the Third Sunday of Creation, at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The gospel text was Luke 8:22-25.  We mostly read of Jesus and his disciples with crowds. It’s rare that Jesus has time alone to minister to his disciples, which is the scene before us. It is a crossing story. Crossings can be dangerous. Any decision to cross the unknown for the sake of transformation is fraught with danger. Jesus’ decision was to go to the foreign country of the Gerasenes. Let’s look a bit deeper and discern the choice, the crisis, the call, and the calm in this crossing story. The choice was to go across to the other side of lake (v. 22). Choices that do not have the potential of life threatening crisis within them are trivial and non-transformative. Television advertising gives us enough examples of trivial choices that fed to us as being truly revolutionary. Jesus’ choice was for the sake of spreading the kingdom of God. The exhausted Jesus slept in ...

Here are some thoughts on tomorrow's epistle for the 4th Sunday in the Season of Creation. They were sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church . Let's talk. Colossians 1:15-20 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. As I was preparing to write this reflection, I realized that the last words of last week’s text, spoken by...

This morning as I was praying and meditating, one word came to me, "settle." I thought about the way we communicate this to our pets, to settle down. For me, however, that is only a piece of what "settle" meant for me this morning.  First of all, I needed to settle   into before I could settle down. That settling into meant to relax and like settling into your favorite chair, feeling that "Ahh." Once that happened, I could ask the Lord to settle my busy mind, my busy tongue, my busy eyes and to open my ears both to what God's message is throughout the day and to be a better listener in general. But for me, the capstone was for God to settle my heart into God's presence. How have you experienced the voice of the Father in prayer and meditation? Picture