Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon that was preached on Sunday, 11/26, Christ the King Sunday at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. It's a collaboration between parishioner Trish Pecuch and myself. The text was Matthew 25:31-46.    Today is Christ the King Sunday!  I have to admit, until Pastor Ivy mentioned it to me, I didn’t know really know anything about the occasion!  Christ the King Sunday is a newer addition to the church’s liturgical calendar- marking the last Sunday of the church year- Next week, the first Sunday of Advent, begins a new church year. It was created in 1925- (when the world was in turmoil) in response to increased secularism and atheism. With WWI having just taken place,  and many world dictators in the picture throughout Europe, Russia, and Mexico- Christ the King Sunday was created to remind the church-  that it belongs to Jesus- not to the world or the authority of any other person, country, or force---that Jesus’ authority is the only one that should be considered and honore

  This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, Nov. 19 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text is Matthew 25:14-30. Let’s look at the cultural context of our gospel. First, what is a talent? Doesn’t talent mean that someone can sing or dance or do stand-up comedy well? In Jesus’ time, a talent was not an ability, but rather a very large sum of money—between 75–96 pounds of silver. One talent was equal to 15 years of a laborer’s wages. Five talents would be more than a lifetime’s wages.            Not all disciples have the same amount of responsibility, as we see in this parable of the slaves. They were all given talents “according to their ability” (v. 15). As God’s children, we are obligated to participate in God’s mission “according to [our] ability” (v. 15).   The master called his slaves and “delivered over” or “gave over” his possessions to them. That’s the meaning in Greek of the word translated as “entrusted.” It seems to imply “giving up control of.” The talents became the prope

  This is the sermon I preached last Sunday at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text is Matthew 25:1-13 . This is a seemingly clear, yet troubling parable. There are a few things scholars cannot agree on, even going back to Martin Luther. For instance, does the oil symbolize good works or faith as Luther believed or the Holy Spirit? We don’t know for sure. Another funny thing is the identity of the bridegroom. From other parts of scripture, we tend to believe that the bridegroom is Christ, and that this is about his return in the age to come. But one pastor says, “this Bridegroom simply cannot be an image of God. God the lurker; God the waiter-until-some-people’s-oil-is-spent; God the “gotcha! master”; God the forgetful – these are such unworthy ways of imagining God” (D. Mark Davis, leftbehindandlovingit.blogspot.com). Hmm, makes you think, doesn’t it? This passage is often referred to as a parable, but, nowhere, are we told that this is a parable. After all, it doesn’t have the earm

  This is the message I preached Sunday, at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was John 8:31-36 . Today's gospel reading is all about freedom. The whole Reformation is all about freedom as well. From Paul's declaration that we have been justified by grace to Luther's hammering his 95 Theses on the Wittenburg Church door, we are reminded of the supremacy of God's grace. What the Reformation tells us is that there is nothing we can do, say or accomplish to earn God's love. God's love is a free gift. We have problems when we forget that we already have love as a gift from God and try to earn it on our own.  Over the years, many songs have been sung about the longing for freedom--from “We Shall Overcome” to the song, “People Got to Be Free,” by the Young Rascals.  What does this have to do with the Reformation and today's gospel? Everything. As a monk, Martin Luther struggled mightily to be free from the sin he was convinced permeated his very being. He took