Sermons by Rev. Dr. Caroline Hall (Page 5)

Good Friday Sermon

Christ crucified is a manifestation of God’s unquenchable and unfathomable love for humanity. Why exactly the Christ dove into the heart of human darkness we cannot say with any certainty except that God used it to turn our darkness into the light of the resurrection.

Bread and Roses

Money for the poor or an extravagant perfume for Jesus? Maybe this is a false choice – it’s like the suffragette meme “bread and roses.” A complete human life needs both and so our ministry to ourselves and others is not money for the poor OR the fragrance of God’s love but a grace-filled combination of the two.

The Great I AM

Do you think of God as a rock? or an eagle? or a hen with chicks? or as water? The metaphors we use for God make a difference to how we pray and live. I encourage us to think of God as constantly encouraging us to take the best route, and our prayer assists in this infolding process.

Being Like Chicks

God’s presence is everywhere, always creating the best possible options in every situation, even in the messiness of the war in Ukraine. But it is up to humanity to use its freewill to respond to the movement of God. We can do this through prayer. Not only can we do it but we have a responsibility to pray, and also to foster serenity as we trust that God will use our prayers to bring about the best possible solutions. We are as safe as chicks under their mother’s wing.

Life as a spiral

Many of us experience life as a spiral either down into more difficulty or up as we get closer to God. Sometimes in that process it seems that evil prevails – as it does right now in Ukraine – but Jesus went toe-to-toe with evil and came up as the risen, resurrected Christ. So we know that nothing, even death, can separate us from the love of God.

We are mortal

Tonight we remember that we are mortal. That we are made of stardust and to dust we shall return, carbon to carbon. And why do we do this, year after year? As if our unexpected aches and pains were not enough to remind us that we are mortal!

Entering the Graciousness of God

Jesus tells to forgive those who hurt us, and pray for our enemies but this is not just a new set of rules – be nice to others even when they’re not nice to you – rather it is an invitation to participate in the grace of God, as the sons and daughters of the Most High.

Transcendence

It seems that our ancestors experienced moments of transcendence – of heaven breaking through – when the scriptures were read. What makes transcendence more likely? How can we prepare ourselves for God to reveal Godself in our lives?