I’ll be out of town this Sunday, but fortunately our church is packed with great people. Lindsey Mosher Trozzo will be filling in for me. Lindsey is currently working on her dissertation on the ethics of the Gospel of John. From our chat this evening it seems like this Sunday will be an extension of our conversation last Sunday with …
Momentum
The last couple of weeks have been kind of intense, a rollercoaster of emotions. Now we are witnessing the backlash. Those who see their worlds crumbling with the removal of symbols of racism and the elation of others as they take a step toward equality are determined to fight back. They ask, “How far is too far?” And the answer …
David Loved Jonathon
This past Sunday was rough. I am pleased to see so much happening in the wake of the events in Charleston. Seeing Confederate flags removed in Alabama and initiatives to do the same throughout the South is encouraging. However, there is so much more to do than change the racist décor. While we endeavor to keep the quest for racial …
A Response to Charleston (preached Sunday, June 21, 2015)
I’ve been trying to figure out why the events in Charleston this week have affected me as they have. Yes, it’s a tragedy. Nine good people are gone from this world. But let’s face it: this happens every day. Every day, our news cycle is filled with death. I become immune to it just like everyone else. There might be …
Preaching to the Choir
I was supposed to talk about David and Goliath this week, about how we read it as children and how we need to read it as adults. There are themes of abuse of power, the cost of a warrior culture, the providence and protection of God. It’s a great story. I would have been clever and provocative. But something happened …
I AM Anarchy
(Warning: Some of the video links in this message contain strong language. It’s okay. The Apostle Paul did it, too.) The teenage years can be confusing and awkward and mine were no exception. I made questionable hairstyle choices – some things never change! – and thought that Ronald Reagan was the Messiah – thankfully some things do change! At the …
I Don’t Know What to Say
The high liturgical seasons are behind us and now we enter “ordinary time.” No fancy name, like “Eastertide;” it is just called “the Season after Pentecost.” I like ordinary time, though. We get to spread out a bit, immerse ourselves in the stories of Jesus’ ministry, this year from the Gospel of Mark. Maybe pick up some of Paul’s writings, …
The Strangeness of Church
Last Sunday we celebrated Jesus’ ascension into heaven. It’s a typically Lukan scene of strangeness, a man being carried up into the sky until he disappears into the clouds. Things get weirder this week. It’s Pentecost. You’re probably familiar with the story. Jesus’ followers are hanging out, trying to figure out their next move when, suddenly, a wind starts blowing …
SuperJesus
We’ve been in a quasi-series throughout Eastertide, talking about the early Christian communities represented in Acts and 1 John. In particular, we’ve been looking at the struggle for identity through doctrine and practice. Unfortunately, that struggle has too often – not just in the early Church, but in every incarnation since – been decided in favor of doctrine, even at …
The Promise and Peril of the Spirit
Over the last few weeks, we have looked at the early Christian community in Jerusalem as depicted in Acts and the Johannine Christian community from which 1 John emerges. Both communities are trying to figure out what it means to be Christian, what it means to live into the promises of Jesus’ life and death. As both were trying to …