The Christian Life
Luke 1:39-45 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my…
Theology Matters
Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Back in the mid-late 1980s, when I was a teenager, the Archbishop of Canterbury sent a…
Repentance: The Purification of the Mind
Readings: Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 3:1-6; Philippians 1:3-11 By the Rev. Karen Faye Siegfriedt “The purpose of the Christian faith is clear and simple. It is not an evacuation plan to heaven but a transformation plan for earth; a transformation plan built on the strategy of helping people become loving human beings who build loving societies, following the loving example of Jesus.” (Brian McLauren) Well, we’ve had about 2000 years to create a loving society. How do you think we’re doing?…
Noticing the Truth
Gospel: Luke 21:25-36 25“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. 28Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and…
Christ the King
The scene depicted in today’s gospel reading is a really hard one to imagine playing out today. A lone, demonstrably non-violent person, unarmed and bound, has already been repeatedly questioned and passed from one worldly power-base to another, until finally reaching the one holding most the worldly power, the representative of the Empire. That this seemingly non-threatening and unarguably physically vulnerable prisoner is invited to speak and be heard by the folks in charge is unimaginable today. That the Roman…
The Destitute Widow and the Destruction of the Temple
Mark 12:38-44 Year B Proper 27 – 25th Sunday after Pentecost Based heavily (and quoting some passages) from commentary by Sung Soo Hong, www.workingpreacher.org. Today’s passage from Mark’s gospel tells a story—one familiar to many—of the window who comes to the temple and gives all that she has, a pittance, in contrast to the wealthy who are giving from their abundance. In this understanding the widow is the “model of discipleship”, in contrast to the scribes who are the opposite.…
All Saints 2024
John 11:32-44 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how…
Sit in the question
In seminary, I took a class on Leadership Practices. It was a truly formative course for me as it not only gave me some new ways of understanding my own leadership style within a church context but also helped me dive deeper into my own spiritual practices. One important exercise we engaged in, in this class, was sitting with questions. Questions like “Says who,” “Why,” “Where is God in this,” or “What is being asked of me here”? These…
Transformed
Mark 10:35-45 35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. 37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” 38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” 39 “We can,”…
How About a Smaller Camel?
Last century I had the privilege of growing up surrounded by four generations of mymother’s family. My great grandmother lived with my grandparents across the streetfrom our house. I still have a vivid memory of my great grandmother Zura, short for herfull name Missouri, seated in a bentwood rocker, attired in her Church of the Brethrenblack dress, talking to her pet parakeets. I spent many summer weeks in the 1960’s with my mother’s father on a Christmas Treefarm he had…