Sermons (Page 101)
Fourth Sunday in Easter
It has been a joy to be your vicar this year. I have so appreciated you welcoming me into this place and sharing your life with me as I have moved through my final year of seminary. I have been blessed by your stories, your passion, and your faithful wondering together about how God is calling you to be a part of God’s mission in the world…
Third Sunday in Easter
Late last year, I was selected to serve on the Pre-election Canvass Committee to help with the search of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod’s next bishop. And if you don’t know what “synod” means, it’s basically a grouping of churches around Chicago that partner for ministry. Now, the worst decision that this committee ever made was to elect me one of the co-chairs. You see, the synod doesn’t know what to do when I champion transparency and open-communication. Maybe I do it because I’m a millennial or maybe it’s…. No, it’s because I’m a millennial. I hate restrictions unless there is a legitimate explanation. And, so, when I read today’s gospel, I see a glimpse of God acting a bit like a millennial…
Second Sunday of Easter
This January, I went to the Holy Land with my seminary, and when in Jerusalem, we visited the Garden of Gethsemane, the garden where Jesus was arrested. The olive trees there are hundreds of years old. And while they aren’t the exact trees that were there when Jesus was, they were from those trees- replanted with parts of those trees. And while walking through the garden, I felt like I was there on that night. I could feel the Holy Spirit. I could feel that creation contains memories and is a holy place…