Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 4/3 at St.Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran Churches. The gospel is John 20:19-31. What comes to mind when you hear today’s gospel? Doubting Thomas, right? After all, it is a story about Thomas and he has a hard time believing, doesn’ t he? One of the greatest lessons I learned in seminary is that in scripture God is always the One who is acting. Look at Jesus’ interaction with Thomas: Is Thomas and his lack of faith the center of the story?   Or is Jesus and his gracious offer of himself to Thomas the center of the story? Let’s look at what God is up to in today’s gospel. The gist of today’s text can be boiled down to these three words: breathe, receive and reveal. Jesus BREATHED on his disciples for them to RECEIVE the Holy Spirit so that he could continue to REVEAL himself. However, before Jesus can breathe on his disciples, he needs to calm them down. They are scared and locked themselves behind closed doors. The discip

This is the sermon I preached on Easter Sunday, March 27 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church. The gospel text is Luke 24:1-12.  I read recently that a seminary professor wrote, “If it's not hard to believe, you're probably not paying attention!” (David Lose). He was talking about the resurrection. Does that shock us? After all, let’s think about this. For someone to rise from the dead is not an everyday occurrence. We’re not talking about having a near death experience. Nor are we talking about a mere resuscitation of Jesus’ body. The account of Jesus’ crucifixion makes it clear that those wanting the crucifixion made sure Jesus was good and dead. Jesus was so dead that no one really believed that he would rise--in spite of the numerous times Jesus told this to his followers. How did the women who were the first to go the empty tomb respond? Did you hear them say, “Praise God! He is risen! I knew this would happen just the way he told us!”

This is the sermon I shared with God's people at St. Timothy Lutheran Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church on Sunday, 3/6. The text was Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 . The setting of today’s gospel consists of three statements: Jesus attracts tax collectors and sinners (v. 1). The Pharisees and scribes criticize his receiving and eating with such people (v. 2) and so Jesus responds with a parable. The issue at hand is table fellowship, breaking bread together and that being the sign and seal of full acceptance. How scandalous! Let’s think about this in our context. It’s one thing to go someplace, like a soup kitchen, to help needy people, spend some time with them, but would we bring them home with us? Many of those living on the edge struggle with mental illness, addiction issues, hygiene issues and who knows what all else. Could we ever see ourselves opening up to the troubled, when the image of God is so marred in their lives that it is barely recognizable? The story of

This is the message I shared on Sunday, 2/28 at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran churches. The gospel text is Luke 13:1-9. When tragedy strikes, we often find ourselves puzzled. Sometimes the most innocent, wonderful people are struck by catastrophe. We wonder where God was when we hear the details of horrendous acts perpetrated by people. In the Denver theater tragedy just over a year ago, why were some killed and not others? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do good things happen to bad people? When we experience pain, illness or adversity, it's tempting to ask what we have done wrong and to wonder why God is punishing us. The expression “What goes around comes around,” is one that we hear both when tragedy strikes and when good and wonderful things happen to people. It may sound right to us, but is it? What does Jesus have to say about disaster in his day? Some people brought up the disaster of the Galilean Jewish pilgrims who were slaugh