Sermons...

Eyes Up, Feet Planted ... May 4, 2008
It is an event that is baffling to many, even the most devout. Christians call it the ascension, Christ’s return to the Creator, as is asserted in the Apostles’ Creed: “the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” In Germany the day is called “Christi Himmelfarht”, literally translated as “Christ’s sky ride” or “Christ’s heaven going.” (I like the way the Germans roll the words together.) ..... (read more)

Being Church: Generosity ... April 13, 2008
What a wonderful day and marvelous story! We are welcoming new babies and new members and basking within the story of the abundance of loaves and fishes. Plenty. Not only enough to go around but enough to share with extras left over. ..... (read more)

Being Church: Prayer and Bread ... April 6, 2008
Prayer and bread. They form the bottom line of faith and are fundamental to being the church. Yet, sometimes we drift from our moorings and get lost in life’s waves. There was a time back in the 1960's and early '70's when prayer was viewed even among some clergy as suspect. The fear was that looking inward was an excuse to not look outward, into the world of action. This is particularly odd given the fact that Gandhi and Martin Luther King, giants of social change and justice, were grounded in prayer. ..... (read more)

Being Church: Telling the Story ... March 30, 2008
The resurrection changes everything. The world of the disciples and our world is jolted by the news of the power of life emerging from death. The Acts of the Apostles, which will be the focus of our attention for three weeks, is about the response to the resurrection--the beginnings of the church. While things like structure and dogma took decades to develop, the beginnings, as most beginnings, rests within the realm of vision and passion. Christ was raised and there was a message to tell and a new way to live ..... (read more)

A Faithful Way... to Life ... March 23, 2008
What a wonderful and marvelous day! It is a huge day--well beyond what words can hold and what mere mortals can take in. It is Easter. While the card shops are full of greetings about spring, flowers and the loveliness of life, Easter is the radical news that not even death can hold God, that God’s love is greater than the forces of any empire or religious structure. Death is not the end and that news is so big that normal categories of reason or discourse simply can’t hold it and any effort to make it small is scandalous. ..... (read more)

A Faithful Way... with Power ... March 16, 2008
Be inspired. You can have it all. New horizons. Easy options. The sky’s the limit. One $20 savings certificate for every $100 you spend. The magic of Macy’s. These words, printed amongst beautiful blue skies and fluffy white clouds. are the promises of Macy’s latest marketing campaign ..... (read more)

A Faithful Way... with Self ... March 9, 2008
Dan said, “Just tell it like it is.” On next to no notice, son Dan is a father and Alison and I are grandparents. That’s the roller coaster of news I referred to last Sunday as I spoke of loving family and the fact that we let go of stories, images and expectations in order to live in the here and now. ..... (read more)

A Faithful Way... with Neighbor ... March 2, 2008
Not exactly a complicated or controversial command on the surface: “you shall not steal.” Families, neighbors, tribes, nations or any other form of civilization all share a sense that you cannot take what is not yours. Granted the definition of “mine” can get a bit dicey, but few can argue against the command not to steal. We start this at a young age: “You can not take Johnny’s toy without asking” or “You can not walk out of the mini-mart without paying for that candy bar!” Petty theft is nipped at the bud for, in the mind of many responsible for discipline, the slide between pilfering and grand larceny is a slippery one. ..... (read more)

Honor your father and your mother ... February 24, 2008
My relationship with my parents is complicated. I love them, most of the time. And most of the time, they love me. But we do have our moments, as most families do. Last Sunday evening, we had one of those moments. My father was in a sour mood last weekend and so he chose not to come for my installation service. When he failed to show up, I was pretty angry, a little sad, but mostly disappointed that he missed such a beautiful service. I really had wanted him to be there. ..... (read more)

A Faithful Way... with Time ... February 17, 2008
Some years ago our oldest son, Halsey, ended up at Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan so Alison and I traded off with time with him at the hospital and time back home at work. At first it was all completely odd and upsetting, what with a sick kid in a strange place. Then, we got the lay of the land and shifted into our own sense of routine. My second stint began on a Saturday, so I made my way through the lobby and to the elevators, now knowing my way. ..... (read more)

A Faithful Way... with God ... February 10, 2008
“Come on Jesus, you’re the man! Look what you can do with your power and your insight. You are the man, go for it.” What a wonderful account of the moral struggle that Jesus faced. Matthew even imagines it as an actual conversation between Jesus and the devil. Yes, Jesus is the man; he is every one of us in the moral struggle that we all encounter of how to use the power given to us. ..... (read more)

Beyond Words ... February 3, 2008
Today, called transfiguration, is clouded in mystery and wrapped in wonder. With the exception of Creation and accounts of the Resurrection, the very heart of mystery, this account is the oddest and most other-worldly of the New Testament. It is beyond words yet, like much that is profound in life, words are the best we have. Check that: possibly it is music or painting that tell the story better than words but the gospel came to us in words so it is what we’ve got. ..... (read more)

Saved?!? ... January 27, 2008
My mother was quite offended by the church group that came by their apartment-extended care facility some days before Christmas. It was advertised as a Christmas concert but, as Mom said, “They wanted to know if we were saved.” She was insulted by the implied assumption that she wasn’t, and she was irritated that these folks took advantage of a captive audience or as she quipped, “Just to get a hold of all of us old folks before we kick off.” Possibly, like you, my mother does not take kindly to someone “in her face,” trying to sell something, questioning the validity of her faith or hustling for Jesus. ..... (read more)

Turn and Open ... January 13, 2008
Turn and open. Turn--real action--then assume the posture of welcoming, receiving--an action of a different kind. Turn and open. I’m imagining the movement of faith, not just the direction but the flow, the choreography of this particular dance. We learn all kinds of dances in our lives. Young children enter the dance of their particular family and learn how to move around a problem or to move into the middle in efforts to mediate it. Or, they simply learn how to claim center stage ... and hang on! Then they go off to school and learn the steps there. ..... (read more)

What Child is This? ... January 6, 2008
The 19th Century English carol begins with a question, “What child is this, who, laid to rest, On Mary’s lap is sleeping?” Of course, it is answered right off: “This, this is Christ the king, Whom shepherds guard and angels sing.” And with such a conclusion we can do none other than instruct each other: “Haste, haste to bring Him laud, the Babe, the Son of Mary!” ..... (read more)

2007 Sermons...

2006 Sermons...