Sermons by Brian Spolarich
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.…
Abiding Love for One Another: The Good News (and the Bad News)
Based on a sermon written by the Rev. Kay Sylvester, Rector, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Tustin CA, May 13, 2012 “This is my commandment,” Jesus tells his disciples, “that you love one another, as I have loved you,” and to “abide in my love”. “Abide” comes from the Germanic word bīdan, meaning “to remain or stay”, and connotes not simply an action, but a state of living and being. It is a stronger idea than an instruction, but a way…
Parables as Subversive Speech: Who is the Hero of the ‘Parable of the Talents’?
Matthew 25:14-30 Parable of the Talents Year A Proper 28 – 25th Sunday after Pentecost I grew up, at times, relatively poor, in a post-manufacturing town in southeastern Michigan. My parents divorced when I was ten, and my mother, without even a high school diploma, and battling medical and psychological health concerns, struggled to find meaningful work. While I knew we had a safety net in my extended family, there was little money, and we received at times welfare assistance.…
Narrative Theology #1
I have two concrete early memories of church from my childhood, one fairly happy, and one much less so. The happy memory is of attending services at my grandmother’s small Presbyterian church in LaSalle, Michigan. To a child, church isn’t necessarily the most interesting way to spend an hour on a Sunday morning, but I was a reasonably compliant and well-behaved kid, and I liked to please my grandmother. So, we went. I can still remember the smell of that…