"podcast" Tagged Sermons (Page 125)
Baptism of Our Lord Sunday
Earlier this month I went to The Field Museum’s exhibit on tattoos. I noticed that each tattoo was a bit different. Some were identifiers, like the tattooed numbers on Nazi prisoners. Others signified status within a tribe or group. Some were even a form of resistance. One type of tattoo even attempted to harness the powers of dead people or animals by mixing their ashes into the ink. As I walked through the exhibit, I began to notice is that tattoos were more than an image. Tattoos were often indicators or reminders that carried meaning. The tattoo was just the beginning of a story.
Epiphany of Our Lord Sunday
Quick poll: Who here likes surprises? Well, I suppose it depends on what kind of surprise, right? Receiving a gift you didn’t expect can be a pleasant surprise! Running into an ex- that you didn’t expect to see is often an awkward surprise. That advertisement that automatically begins playing on a webpage is simply an annoying surprise…
Second Sunday of Christmas
There’s a picture I haven’t been able to get out of my head for weeks now. My friend shared it on Facebook and its haunting image has been constantly on my mind. It shows a young couple – a man and a woman – walking through a desolate street. The man’s face is tired and shows a blank gaze as he balances his sleeping child in one arm and a medical IV drip in the other. The woman’s face is covered as the three hastily make their way down the street – their urgency is clear. In his post, my friend quoted today’s gospel text, “And so he arose, took the child and his mother by night, and fled into Egypt.” Because even though this was a picture taken just two weeks ago of a young family fleeing the advancing government forces in the Syrian city of Aleppo, it could just as easily be a picture from more than 2000 years ago of the Holy Family fleeing the advancing government forces in Bethlehem. Because my friend shared this picture just days before Christmas and because I knew that this was today’s appointed text, this is the image that has colored my celebrations this season…