Claimed, gathered and sent

Here are some thoughts about this Easter Sunday's first lesson. This was sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. First Reading: Acts 10:34-43 34 Peter began to speak to [the people]: “I truly understand that God shows no partialit y, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him . 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. 37 That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil , for God was with him. 39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses , and who a...

This is the sermon I prepared for the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church for Sunday, 4/5/20. The text is Matthew 21:1-11 . I loved living in the Holy Land during Palm Sunday. There was a procession from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. All the churches of all languages along with visiting pilgrims participated in this. Throngs of people walked the way of Jesus into the city. This year we celebrate a Palm Sunday, unlike any we have ever experienced. Where are the palms? Where is the parade from the fellowship hall into the sanctuary? Can we celebrate the Palm Sunday procession without these elements? Open your hands and look at them. What do you see? You have palms on your hands. We may not have palm branches, but we certainly have our palms with us that can be lifted high in cries of praise and pleas for help, as well as being used to help those around us. Everything in this gospel story illuminates the identity of Jesus Christ. We see various aspects of Christ’s cha...

This is what was shared with the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church . What are your thoughts?  Processional Gospel: Matthew 21:1-11 1When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, 5“Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” 6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ...

This is the sermon for Sunday, 3/29/20, the Fifth Sunday in Lent. This was for the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was John 11:1-45 . “Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs...Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign” sang the Five Man Electrical Band. In John’s gospel, we don’t encounter parables, but there are plenty of signs. Jesus performed miracles, but they were not the big picture. They were signs, which do not point to themselves, but elsewhere, to Jesus. John’s gospel surprises us with frequent and personal expressions of Jesus’ self-disclosure. This week’s reading too is fraught with double meanings and further revelation of who Jesus is. The raising of Lazarus signals the beginning of the end of Jesus’ teaching and signs. It was the tipping point of Jesus’ relationship with the Jewish authorities and the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, putting into motion the events that led to Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus’ enemies shifted ...

Here are some thoughts on this Sunday's gospel. What do you think? Let's talk about it. I shared this with the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.   Gospel: John 11:1-15, 38-45 1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.  2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill.  3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”  4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”  5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus,  6 after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.   7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”  8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying...

This is the sermon I prepared and shared with the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church . We met together in spirit. The text was Ephesians 5:8-16 in The Message.   Bemus Point is always quiet this time of year, but not this eerily quiet. Stores and restaurants that are normally open are closed, seemingly abandoned. Lights are off, businesses are shuttered and life has seemingly screeched to a halt. The darkness seems to be winning.  In these days of COVID 19 does it ever seem like you are feeling your way through the darkness? What you knew yesterday isn’t true today. The situation keeps changing at a dizzying rate. There is a powerlessness to life in the darkness. What makes the darkness seem hopeless and helpless is the sense that the Lord is not there. Life within the darkness feels utterly alone. It reminds me a bit of life in Palestine when I lived there with my family in the 1980s. Day by day life changed. One day it was safe to go to this part of Bethlehem...

Here are some thoughts on this Sunday's second lesson. These are uncertain times in which we live and I think this scripture speaks to us today. What are your thoughts? This was sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.  Second Reading: Ephesians 5:8-16 from The Message 8-10 You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You’re out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it. 11-16 Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ. Wake up from your sleep, Climb out of your coffins; Ch...