Claimed, gathered and sent

  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

  This is the sermon I preached Sunday, 10/22 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Matthew 22:15-22.   The question the Pharisees and Herodians present to Jesus is a yes or no question. It sounds simple enough: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” (v. 17). That’s like someone asking if such and such is in the Bible or not. But from the beginning, we’re told it’s a trap. Before they even open their mouths, suspicion has been aroused. Here, together, were Pharisees and Herodians—most unusual bedfellows.    The Pharisees were popular with the people. They disdained the actions of religious leaders who kowtowed to the Roman occupation and they were a kind of renewal movement in Judaism. In principle, they resented and resisted the tax, but did not go as far as the radical nationalists who publicly resisted its payment. Then there were the Herodians who wanted to maintain their standing and wealth, resulting from their support of the Roman occupation.  What’s the prob

  This is the sermon I preached Sunday, Oct. 15 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Matthew 22:1-14.  Many of Jesus’ parables in Matthew are hard to understand. It seems like God is very harsh and judgmental, what Lutherans would call emphasizing law instead of gospel.  In this parable, sometimes it seems we can equate the king with God, who graciously invites everyone to the banquet. But, what about when the king had those who did not accept his invitation killed and their cities destroyed? Does that sound like God? After the servants invited everyone, good and bad, to the banquet, the king picks on one man who was not appropriately dressed. Did he have time to change? In those days, the king provided the proper clothing for those attending the banquet. Was it the fault of one of the servants? Did the man just make light of this banquet and dishonor the king by not changing? We don’t know, but there are certainly plenty of possibilities. The king/God seems to have a hairlike

This is the sermon I preached Sunday at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Matthew 21:23-32. I would like you to join me in listening to an exchange between Jesus and the religious leaders in Jerusalem. Jesus was in the middle of teaching in the temple and the chief priests and elders of the people interrupted him, saying, “Who do you think you are, Jesus? You’ve caused so much trouble lately.”  Talking among themselves, we hear, “Why didn’t he just stay put in Galilee?” while another chimes in, “He comes marching in here like he belongs here!” Then an elder says, “And the crowd! Not one bit of decorum among them! They kept crying out,  ‘Hosanna!’” “And if that weren’t enough, did you hear about the incident with the money changers? Jesus confronted them, tipping over their tables and making a huge scene.” “Then he said something about making it a house of prayer. What did he mean by that? This is God’s house. Of course, it’s a house of prayer.”“He called our money changers thi

  This is the sermon I preached Sunday at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The gospel was Matthew 20:1-16 .  “It’s not fair!” How many of you, who are parents, aunts and uncles, anyone who has had anything to do with children, have heard these words. Our goal is to explain to the child why something can't be done. That may help, or it may not. God doesn’t play fair, at least by our standards. As we look at today’s difficult, startling parable, we may respond like the early workers, like children. Maybe we are those called later in the day, who embraced faith later in life.  There are two main parts of this parable: the hiring of the workers and then the paying of the workers. From the beginning, just the way the parable plays out lets us know that something is up.  For one thing, it would be unusual for a landowner himself to go hire workers. Why didn’t he send someone else? Throughout the day, he goes four times to hire workers. Palestinian workers in Palestine go to specific places