Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I shared with God's people at Bethel Lutheran Church, Portville, NY. It is based on Matthew 1:18-25. Is it Christmas yet? If you are around small children this time of year, you know what a burning question this is for them. We have two more days to go until Christmas Eve, when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Perhaps today’s gospel seems a bit misplaced. It is the fourth and final Sunday of Advent, not Christmas Eve. Yet we’re talking about the birth of Jesus---or are we? Only the first and last verses of today’s gospel reading are about the actual birth of Jesus. There is a larger story being played out driven by Mary’s unexpected pregnancy. These birth verses act as bookends to that drama. Divine works and signs permeate Matthew’s account of the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. But for God’s Son to become incarnate with us, a lot depended upon people cooperating with God. Human beings are not automatons without wills where everything happens

It's been a long time and it's time to get back to blogging. Whenever I read gospel accounts regarding Jesus' identity, I hear in my head the NCIS theme, "Who Are You?" This past Sunday, John the Baptist was the one doing the wondering. The gospel text is Matthew 11:2-11. This is the message I shared with God's people at Bethel Lutheran Church in Portville, NY. Have you ever struggled with doubt? Perhaps you have been in a situation which made everything that was formerly clear and certain, murky and uncertain. You pray and nothing happens. Where is God? You’ve done all the right things, but nothing has turned out the way it’s supposed to or the way you thought it was supposed to. I imagine that is how John the Baptist felt. A chunk of time has passed between the events of last week’s gospel and this week’s. John has been arrested. He has been in prison during Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. John may have been in prison as long as a year. If Jesus is

This week's gospel text from Luke is a doozy. The following is the result of prayer and study with the scripture. This is what I'll be preaching tomorrow morning at Bethel. What in the world is Jesus talking about in today’s parable? There is nothing easy to understand about it.                                             Is this an early example of a debt settlement offer? How ideal for our culture of consumers who are overspent, overextended, and stretched beyond reason. We’ve probably all heard the ads on the radio or TV. “Call 1-800-BYE-DEBT and let us deal with your creditors.” They make it sound so easy. However, we all know there are no easy fixes and that if it sounds too good to be true, then it is. Money issues are complicated. Why does Jesus tell this story? Is Jesus praising dishonesty and rewarding the “self-serving shenanigans of a [sleazy] employee?” (Sharron Blezard) The manager doesn’t do folks in, but he is determined to secure his future b

I was really excited when I saw this prayer by St. Ignatius on a Facebook post by Renovare. It beautifully fits in with the gospel lesson for tomorrow from Luke 14:25-33. Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,  my memory, my understanding and my entire will, All I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace. That is enough for me. Amen.

The best, most rewarding and sometimes the hardest part of being a pastor is the sacred spaces that people allow you into. Since Palm Sunday, I have spent more time walking, praying and just accompanying my parishioners at the hospital, the funeral home and in circumstances of life. It's a sacred and sometimes sad privilege to be let into people's lives like that. Saturday the church council and I  went to Camp Penuel in Eldred, PA for a church council retreat. We are blessed to have such committed leaders. It was a really good retreat and I thank God for his work among us as we studied, prayed and tackled the subject of change and what that might look like at Bethel.  We also set some BHAGs--big, hairy, audacious goals. Then yesterday was Good Shepherd Sunday and it felt strange to be away from church. I was traveling to S. C. for the Evangelical Lutheran Coalition for Mission in Appalachia Assembly as  one of my synod's delegates to the assembly. It was a very l

For the first time in anyone's memory, we held a community Ash Wednesday service. This was a cooperative effort of the Methodist, Presbyterian and Lutheran churchs. The response was overwhelming. This will now be an annual event. We three pastors each preached a short homily following each of the scripture texts that were read. I preached on the Isaiah text . Here is the message I shared: At first glance, it’s easy to see why this portion of Isaiah is read on Ash Wed.      It’s about fasting, which is a discipline some folks practice during Lent      This reading is about right and wrong fasting and worship           But the heart of the message goes far deeper “God was disturbed by Israel’s lack of social justice. Their fasting had become [a public show. It was] a means to boast of their righteousness rather than live out a faith where one cares for one’s neighbor” (Dr. Keith Wagner) The people of Israel were trying to build a new community This generation