Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached on New Year's Day, 1/1/17 at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran Churches. The text was Galatians 4:4-7 .   What is in a name? Shakespeare wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" (William Shakespeare, "Romeo and Juliet"). When picked on, adults used to tell kids, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." We quickly discover that this is not so! Some labels given to us are such that we may struggle with them as adults. All names are powerful, but Jesus’ name is the most powerful of all. We use names as a concise way to convey complex meanings: being able to call someone by name means you know something important about that person, and being called by name means you are known. On this day we celebrate the privilege and the power of calling God by name, and that name is Jesus. Our texts for today affirm the power of the name we’re given at baptism: chil

Vocation in the New Year | ...In the Meantime Excellent, succinct thoughts about the New Year from David Lose.

This is the sermon I preached for Advent 2 A on 12/4 at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran churches. The text is Isaiah 11:1-10 . Who wouldn’t want to live in a paradise like the one Isaiah describes? It’s an unimaginable world! But it didn’t start out that way for the people of Israel. Judah had been devastated. In Isaiah 6, it’s likened to a tree that’s been destroyed with only the stump remaining. But God had promised that there would be new life that would usher in a new age of righteousness and justice. This would not be limited to Israel alone, but is an ideal world for all people. Isaiah preaches hope in a time of terror and justice in a time of oppression. The stump was the dynastic reign of King David’s family, which was believed to be the carrier of God’s goodness and faithfulness in the world. But the royal family disappointed its people and left them in despair.  God’s Spirit enters into this malaise. God’s wind has come to blow over the stump of death and disc

This is the sermon I preached Sunday, 11/20  at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran churches. The scripture text was Luke 23:33-43 . I have to admit that I was confused when I first looked at today’s gospel text. Doesn’t this seem like an unusual text, especially at this time of year? After all, this is not Good Friday!   What does Jesus’ crucifixion have to do with Jesus being Christ the King?  Everything!  Listen to the way theologian N T Wright describes the situation:                                        Jesus has stood on its head the meaning of kingship, the meaning of the kingdom itself. He has celebrated with the wrong people, offered peace and hope to the wrong people, and warned the wrong people of God’s coming judgment. Now he is hailed as king at last, but in mockery. Here comes his royal cupbearer, only it’s a Roman soldier offering him the sour wine that poor people drank. Here is his royal placard, announcing his kingship to the world, but it is in fac

Tanks to David Lose for this wonderful article. Luther on Education | ...In the Meantime

Here's a good article about Advent. Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached this past Sunday, 11/13 at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran Churches. The gospel text was Luke 21:5-19 . A while back, Ray and I watched the movie "The Agony and the Ecstasy." It is the story of Michelangelo and the conflicts and joys he experienced as he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. To begin with, Michelangelo felt ill equipped for the task for which Pope Julius had commissioned him. He was a sculptor, not a painter. Additionally, during his work on the chapel, Michelangelo experienced significant barriers to his artistic inspiration from society, his family, the Pope, and the Church leadership of the day. To produce the marvelous frescoes on the chapel's ceiling, he worked day and night for four years on top of scaffolding lying on his back! What a feat! In order to produce the wonderfully, amazing work of art, Michelangelo had to endure agony before experiencing the ecstasy of the finished work. Ho