Sermons on Life of Christ (Page 7)
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I will, with God’s Help
Isaiah 56:1,6-8 Psalm 67 Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32 Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28 I think there’s a little bit of Jewish privilege showing up in today’s gospel and in the second reading. Paul proudly shares his Jewish credentials, and Jesus says “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Privilege is an interesting thing because most of us have ways in which we are privileged in our society and ways in which we are disadvantaged or even…
God is Love-Always
1 Kings 19:9-18 Psalm 85:8-13 Romans 10:5-15 Matthew 14:22-33 It was a quiet evening after the feeding of the five thousand plus. Jesus had gone up a mountain to pray and the disciples headed home across the lake. Perhaps Jesus told them to pick him up later, or perhaps he planned to walk back in his own time. It was a quiet evening hundreds of years earlier when Elijah huddled in his cave, having had a great triumph over the…
Hunger and Hospitality
Isaiah 55:1-5 Psalm 145: 8-9, 15-22 Romans 9:1-5 Matthew 14:13-21 One of the many things I miss during this time in exile is potlucks! Potlucks do have some downsides – like not knowing what you are eating, eating too much and filling up with carbs. All that delicious pasta, rice and beans are not so good for those of us who are diabetic or nearly so. But I love having other people cook for me; I love knowing you all…
Love Strongly
Genesis 21:8-21 Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17 Romans 6:1b-11 Matthew 10:24-39 Usually we omit the Old Testament reading on the third Sunday of the month but today it seems particularly important, so I decided this morning that we should include it. Like today’s gospel, it is a difficult reading. It is a difficult reading because it tells us about racial separation. It tells us that deep in the very early history of the Judaeo-Christian people, just as in this country and in…
It’s Not our First Choice
Acts 1:6-14 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 John 17:1-11 I haven’t yet worked out how to show pictures while we are live-streaming, which is a shame because there are many, many paintings of the ascension that we could look at. You can Google them if you’re interested. Most of them show Jesus going straight up or doing an arabesque as he ascends. There are one or two which show the disciples looking at his feet, but the one that intrigues me…
Palm Sunday Musings
Photo by Valentin Salja on Unsplash Matthew 21:1-11 Philippians 2:5-11 Matthew 26:14- 27:66 I often don’t preach at all on Palm Sunday, letting the readings speak for themselves, but these are strange times which call for different responses. Even though we couldn’t get together and parade around the parking lot, we have just enjoyed remembering the triumphal ride into Jerusalem – with Jesus apparently at the height of his popularity – everything going well. Yet in a few minutes as…
Resurrection
Photo by Pam Riches@unsplash.com Ezekiel 37:1-14 John 11:1-45 The first reading this morning is one which will be familiar to those of you who come to the Easter Vigil, because it is an important story that we often read as part of our Salvation History. It is one of the visions of the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a contemporary of Jeremiah’s – both of them experienced the final fall of Jerusalem and the exile, but whereas Jeremiah was able to…
Walk in the Light
Photo by Rostyslav Savchyn in Unsplash.com 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-41 Psalm 23 I love the readings this Lent. They are all wonderful conversations. Two weeks ago Nicodemus came for a conversation about being born again, then last week the Samaritan woman was offered springs of eternal water and realized she was talking to the Messiah. This week’s story of the blind man, his neighbors, parents and the authorities is almost like an Abbott and Costello sketch. We…
Social distances
Photo by Stephen Hume @ unsplash.com John 4:5-42 I’m sorry I’m not worshiping with you in person this morning though I am participating through livestream. I am not there because I have a very minor chest cold which in normal circumstances I would completely disregard. But these are not normal circumstances. So I am practicing “social distancing” by staying home and I am very grateful to the Rev Susan for stepping in for me. Yesterday the first instance of the…
Hunting for Fig Leaves
Photo by Sime Basioli @unsplash.com Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12-19 Matthew 4:1-11 Psalm 32 My sister once said,” I think we must have come from somewhere very wonderful or we wouldn’t be so dissatisfied with what we have and filled with longing for something better.” Today we start Lent with part of the ancient Creation story. This narrative was developed by the ancient people as a way of explaining that longing that my sister voices, and explaining how things are. …