Sermons (Page 71)
First Sunday of Advent
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten the question of what happens when we die. I’ve had it asked while at the bedside of dying patients during chaplaincy. I’ve had theological debates about it with my roommates in seminary. Even scarier…I’ve had it asked during a children’s sermon. We can’t help but be curious about it; we can’t help but wonder when our loved one is slipping away what will happen to them. And though it’s a question that provides comfort for many, it is a question that is, at the same time, terrifying…
All Saints Sunday
Today’s appointed gospel reading does us no favors. Upon reading it, I immediately regretted not having Vicar Paisley preach. You see, today’s reading is a part of what scholars call “the Sermon on the Plain” and part of the reading includes Luke’s version of the beatitudes. Unlike the gospel of Matthew, Luke doesn’t spiritualize the beatitudes. What is “blessed are you who are poor” here in Luke, is read as “blessed are the poor in spirit” in Matthew. Luke is blunt, and Matthew makes it a bit more palatable. So, to find a way out from Luke’s words, I read scholar-after-scholar’s take, I opened up bible commentaries, and I went deep into some dusty books from seminary to find a way out –any way out…
Reformation and Homecoming Sunday
Today’s gospel reading is a short exchange between Jesus and Judean people who believed in him. One of the stand-out phrases is, “you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” It’s a simple formula: if you know truth, then you find freedom. But, is it really all that easy? After all, in an era with access to information and expert opinions literally in our hands, you’d think that we would know the truth. But, in my experience, truth can be elusive. As a people, we have trouble recognizing fact-based truths from alternative facts. We have problems discerning between clickbait and real news. With an abundance of sources at our fingertips, who has time to sort through it all? The more simplistic option is to either grasp onto the source that aligns with our perspective or the one that ignites our emotion…