Sermon for Luke 21:5-19

A couple weeks ago, we gave my mom a surprise birthday party. 80 years old. It’s ok, she won’t mind that I told you all. The cousins even showed up! It was nice to catch up. Now, my family has a lot of big personalities. I’m actually one of the quiet ones, believe it or not! By big, I mean opinionated. Strong conservative opinions. I see their chatter on Facebook and I wonder who ARE these people! So do you want to guess what they’ve been talking about lately? Probably the same thing you’re all talking about. The election. So at the party they all want to know who I’m voting for. I don’t know why they even bother to ask. Surely they can figure it out. But I know they’re itching for a fight, so I don’t say a word.

You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.

Sermon for Luke 13:10-17

All of our readings today talk about the Sabbath. What do you think of when you hear “Sabbath”? I think of Sunday rest. I also think of how I’m a failure at keeping God’s third commandment – keep the Sabbath holy. I’ve always got something I’ve got to do. So much for rest. Shouldn’t this be the easiest commandment to keep? Rest. But it’s not. The world never stops moving. Some of us actually have jobs with Sunday shifts. Heck, pastors even get paid for what they do on Sunday, right? Now, we can get creative and say that Sabbath doesn’t have to mean Sunday. Pick a day. After all, God creates for 6 days and rests on the 7th, but that doesn’t mean Sunday. So, then you have to consider what the word “Sabbath” actually means. It’s a Hebrew word – SHABBAT. It means rest, but it also means to cease, to stop, to come to an end. We don’t get to pick which definition makes more sense. So this doesn’t mean taking things easy for a day. This means completely stop everything. If you want to take the letter of the law at face value, then we’ve got a pretty big problem. And I don’t know about you, but I’m convinced that when we try to qualify laws, we always make a mess of things.

Sermon for Luke 12:32-40

A watched pot never boils. We all know that saying. What does it mean? Well, have you ever tried to watch a pot boil? There you go. Actually, there’s a lot of meaning in that little phrase. One thing it gets at, is anticipation. When we’re waiting for something, doesn’t it feel like time slows down? And the more you want or need whatever it is you’re waiting for, the worse it gets. We encounter this in a lot of ways – waiting for a restaurant order. Waiting for medication to take effect. Waiting for an appointment. Waiting for an answer. These are totally different situations, but it all comes down to the same basic thing. Waiting. And don’t we do a lot of it?

Sermon for the Parable of the Rich Fool

You can’t take it with you. Isn’t that the old saying? That’s kind of what Jesus seems to be saying here – “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you” That’s death by the way. “And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” You spend your life building your fortune, and then you die. The Lord giveth and taketh away, and there’s not much good news about that, is there? Now, considering this is a parable, what do we usually do when we hear one? We always try to figure out which character we are. Why? Because we figure Jesus is trying to use a story to tell us what to do. Who do we associate with here? The rich guy, right? Well, the only people in the story are God and the rich guy, and I’ve never met anyone who associated with God. So, what do you think the message is going to be? Things can’t save you? Stuff weighs you down? Be generous? That’s all good, but it sounds just like common sense, so I don’t know that we need the Bible for that. Maybe Jesus is up to something else here…..

Sermon for the Parable of the Good Samaritan

So, a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan walk into a bar. Ouch!

This has got to be one of the best-known parables in all of scripture. Surely everybody knows who the Good Samaritan is. We call people Good Samaritans. We’ve got laws named for him. Sometimes when you’re driving on 465, you might see one of the CVS/Samaritan vans on the side of the road, helping out a stranded motorist. Really, it’s fascinating how this story even sticks with people who don’t profess any sort of religion at all. Maybe it’s because it sounds like a simple lesson about being a good neighbor, and you don’t have to be Christian to know that’s a good idea.

Sermon for Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

So, funny story – the first time I went to Luther for on campus courses, they lost my baggage! I tried so hard to pack everything I needed, so many books and all the wool and flannel I could find because it’s St. Paul in January, and that’s like the sub-arctic, right? I’ve never been there, so I expected the worst. I get up there, my first time to seminary, no idea what to expect or what kind of people I’ll find there, and discover that I’ve got nothing but the clothes on my back. So I’m standing at the carousel thinking, well, this is an epic fail. Jesus, what have you gotten me into this time?

Sermon for Good Shepherd Sunday

Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” Could there be a more beautiful promise than this? No conditions. No if/then. And he’s talking about *us*. He never asked our permission. He chose us. And no one will snatch us away.

Sermon for John 1:1-18

New beginnings. Starting over. These are powerful ideas, aren’t they? And very appropriate for today too – Happy New Year! Maybe you’re like me, and it’s easy to think about the messes of this past year. And now we have a brand new year to do better. Or maybe you’ve going to exercise or read more. Maybe we’ll try to be a nicer person for a change. More patient? More accepting? More generous? It’s kind of an endless list, but hey, we’ll never be bored, right? So how about resolutions? Did any of you make some? Maybe they’ll work. I hope so. But to be honest, I’m not too big on resolutions. Somehow I just end up falling back into old habits. Does that happen for you too? Maybe we really are just creatures of habit. We say that a lot, or at least we think it.

Sermon for Mark 6:1-13

Jesus comes home to preach, and it’s a fight! To jump to the chase, they were scandalized – made angry – by whatever he said. How angry? Mark doesn’t say. But Luke does. There, the people get so angry that they actually chase Jesus out to a cliff to try and throw him over. How’s that for a hometown reception! Now, at the same time, maybe you’ve also noticed over these weeks – Jesus is all about the miracles – calming storms and healing diseases and resurrecting children. So, who cares what Jesus says, these miracles should blow our minds, right? Raising the dead? Can you even imagine? And they don’t HAVE to imagine it – don’t they SEE it? Naah, these people are so blind with anger that they don’t even see anything but a target on Jesus. Why are they so pissed off with Jesus? Probably because they’re hearing big time condemnation from him – you messed up, and now God’s going to take his blessings elsewhere, to other people who aren’t even Jews! Wow – do you think God’s chosen people are maybe a little enraged?