Sermon for First Sunday of Christmas – Matthew 2:13-23

Merry Christmas! You know, a lot of folks are surprised to find out that Christmas isn’t just a one day thing. Then again, Christmas is full of surprises. We surprise each other with gifts. We like being surprised by them, unless it’s another ugly sweater. Kids love to open a Nintendo box filled with socks and underwear. Distant friends sometimes drop in for a surprise visit. We get a surprise card from someone we haven’t heard from in years. Surprises can bring a lot of joy. But, the pendulum swings both ways. Surprises can disappoint us or even be very tragic.

Well, how surprising is our gospel for today? I mean, we just celebrated Christmas Eve. Our sanctuary was packed. We listened to Luke’s nativity story in the manger. We gave thanks for the birth of the holy child. We sang Silent Night by candlelight. It was glorious. Sure, the reality wasn’t so glorious. A dirty, smelly manger, noisy animals, childbirth. Mary and Joseph wondering what folks were going to ask when they went back home with a baby. It’s complicated. But it’s still a story that gives us peace, and you’d think that should be enough.

Sermon for First Sunday of Advent – Matthew 24:36-44

“Expecting the unexpected” seems like the gist of what Jesus is talking about in our gospel reading for today. “Therefore be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” Sounds like an oxymoron. Now, this is just part of a really long conversation between Jesus and his disciples. Way back in verse 3 the disciples ask him “When will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming?” 36 verses and he’s still answering! Hopefully my sermon will be shorter…

“The Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” What Jesus means is that after crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension, he will come again to us. Like we confess in our creed – “he will come again to judge the living and the dead.” Here, Jesus is describing what his second coming will be like. How do we imagine that? Peaceful? But how does Jesus paint it? Terrifying. I mean, he starts with the story of Noah and the flood. That’s controversial. The whole world is full of sin except for Noah, the only righteous person in the entire world. So God strikes out in anger and destroys all humanity with a flood, except for Noah and his family in the ark. God’s judgment like a sledgehammer. So much for forgiveness. Of course, we know the story continues with God promising never again. God gives the rainbow as a sign. But deep down, does that feel like enough? It’s terrifying to think that God has the capacity for such unexpected violence. Who could explain that away?

Sermon for Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost – Luke 14:1, 7-14

So how about that first reading from Proverbs? If only all our readings could be that simple, right? “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great; for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.” But you know, context makes all the difference. There’s that gracious king or queen that looks at you and says in this kind and benevolent voice, “come up here.” Good news, right? But then there’s that Game of Thrones kind of ruler that looks at you and yells “COME UP HERE!” Good news? Context makes all the difference.

Especially when it comes to humility. But what does it mean to be humble? Being modest. Downplaying ourselves. Giving others credit first. Are we good at being humble? (SEE WHAT I DID THERE?) Tricky thing. Maybe the instant you start thinking about your own humility, you set yourself up for failure. I confess I do it way more than I want to admit. But enough about me, what do YOU think of me? So the old joke goes. But right there, is humility about what we think, or what others think? Is our humility believable? Context makes all the difference. Sometimes you can tell when someone’s just fishing for compliments or sympathy. Is that humility or manipulation? Sometimes humility turns into self-deprecation, when we genuinely don’t like ourselves very much. We downplay ourselves because it’s so easy to lose touch with our God-given dignity.

Sermon for Sixth Sunday after Pentecost – Genesis 18:1-10a

How’s the weather treating you? Hot? Sticky? Who’s a fan? Who’s not? There’s something about this kind of hot weather that weighs on me after a while. Usually I’m full of energy and hustling on a whole bunch of projects, but right now it’s kind of a monumental effort for me to do anything at all. Which is pretty frustrating, but maybe it’s a good lesson in patience. It won’t be summer forever. Or I hope not! Thanks, global warming! But somehow it kind of makes me picture a city street where you’ve got a row of front porches or stoops where folks are just sort of sitting and watching time pass by. Some folks are fanning themselves. Some are sipping a glass of water or lemonade. Not a lot of energy. Not lot of moving around. Just watching and waiting for something to change. But you kind of get the feeling not much ever changes. Some folks are trying to get work but no one ever calls them back. Some folks wonder when the city is ever going to pave those craters in the street that destroy tires. Some folks wonder about the absentee landlords letting some of the houses sit abandoned for years and invite trouble. A lot of needs that won’t go away. A lot of folks waiting for a change that never seems to happen. After a while you wonder if anyone cares.

And so we have today’s first reading from Genesis. The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of MAMRA, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. Now, that’s actually a weird thing to say, because we think this is actually Hebron in the West Bank of Palestine, and their weather is a little cooler than ours, but let’s go with it anyway. Point being Abraham feels stuck. Worn down. God always making promises but nothing ever changes. So how did Abraham get here?

Sermon for Fifth Sunday after Pentecost – Luke 10:25-37

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

Is there a better-known parable than the Good Samaritan? Even folks who have never read the bible seem to know what it means to be a good Samaritan. We’ve got laws named for him. Sometimes when you’re driving on 465, you might see a CVS/Samaritan van pulled over to help out a stranded motorist. But why is this story so popular? Maybe it’s because it sounds like a simple lesson about being a good neighbor. You don’t have to be Christian to know that’s a good idea. But what if there’s more to the story? What if Jesus is talking about something a lot more controversial than just being helpful people? I mean, Mister Rogers was always telling us to help others and no one tried to crucify him, so let’s dig a little deeper into what Jesus is saying.

Sermon for Sixth Sunday of Easter – John 14:23-29

I love bumper stickers. Here’s one of my favorites (VISUALIZE WHIRLED PEAS). Or this one (MY KARMA RAN OVER YOUR DOGMA). Clever, right? I don’t care so much for this one (JESUS IS MY COPILOT). I mean, I think I know what they’re TRYING to say, but what’s a copilot for? When the pilot passes out. YIPES! You stay in your lane way over there, and I’ll stay way over here, and everything will be just fine. Have you ever seen one like this? (I’M NOT PERFECT JUST FORGIVEN) I confess, this one makes me skeptical, like they’d be the most likely one to cut me off in traffic. Now, that’s kind of ironic. For as much as I think and talk about Jesus’ forgiveness, isn’t it weird to feel skeptical when I see this sticker? Why do I feel that way?

Sermon for Fifth Sunday of Easter – John 13:31-35

Do you know what a life verse is? That’s where you look for a verse in scripture that inspires you. Or you’re going through a hard time and you look for a verse that gives strength or peace. Something to help you trust God when everything’s falling apart. You can memorize it. You can mediate on it. You can write it on a sticky note and put it where you’ll see it through the day. Have any of you ever done that? I have. But I’ve never heard anyone make this their life verse. “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.” That’s a mouthful! And you’d need a REALLY BIG sticky note to fit all that!

But it’s actually the perfect life verse, because Jesus is teaching us what glory really means, and what it has to do with our lives. But our problem is that we misunderstand glory. In the human world, what’s glory all about? Well, we could talk about fame and fortune and how we glorify our favorite celebrities and athletes. But we already know that kind of glory is short-lived and superficial. We know we buy into it. We know we shouldn’t. Easy lesson. So let’s get more complicated.

Sermon for Third Sunday in Lent – Luke 13:1-9

So, two words. Urgency and complacency. You’ve got some thing you’ve got to do. You know the deadline. Do you get it done now, or do you put it off until the last minute? If we’re honest, I think we all know the right answer, versus the real answer. Or am I the only one who’s ever had a crisis? Speaking of which, have you done your taxes yet? Good news, you still have time. I managed to get mine done yesterday. If you know me then you know I’m obsessed with being organized. I love lists. I love making them. I love looking them over. I love checking things off. I love being responsible. I have the list of stuff to take to my tax person every year. Easy. Now, he’s pretty booked up, so he gets to call the shots. 9am Saturday morning. Fine. So guess when I was scrounging up all the paperwork? 11pm Friday night.

Why do we put things off to the last minute even though we know better? Because we love drama? Doubt it. Because we need someone to light a fire under us to get us moving? Maybe. Urgency and complacency. It’s like these two poles we revolve around constantly. It sounds a lot like what Jesus is talking about today.

Sermon for Epiphany 6 – Luke 6:17-26

Have you ever been bullied? Was it when you were a kid? What did they do to you? Call you names? Push you around? Was it worse? I hear you. I got bullied a lot as a kid. We lived in a small town, I was a nerd, I had a fabulous case of acne, no athletic ability, no social skills, everyone else figured out I was gay before I did, so I had a lot going for me. Good times! Now, it was hell at the time, but I’ve been blessed with time and distance and about 20 years of therapy, so I can laugh about it a little bit. Like the time they hung me on the flagpole in front of the school. You know how it’s got that hook for tying the flag rope? I was waiting for the bus with my backpack on, so they picked me up and hung me on the hook by the loop on my backpack. Oh, if we only had cell phones and Instragram back then. I could have gone viral! Of course, there are other memories I still can’t laugh at, but let’s leave it at that for now.

So, being bullied can teach you a few things. You definitely learn that people can be pretty cruel and amazingly creative. Maybe you learn to be tough or even vindictive – get them before they get you. But how many bullies were once bullied themselves? It doesn’t just come out of nowhere. It’s a cycle of violence. Maybe you just stop trusting people, so no one can take advantage of you anymore. Maybe you learn some really bad coping skills, like substance abuse or self-harm. Or stand-up comedy. It all boils down to survival, right? It’s a hard world. There’s a pecking order and we all know what rolls downhill. So it’s not surprising that we don’t often step in when we see bullying, because God knows what we’re going to bring upon ourselves. We’re just thankful someone else is taking the abuse for us for a change so maybe we can get through today. I’ll confess to that, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. But you know, it’s hard to say what’s the worst part of being bullied – is it the violence, the shame, or the powerlessness?

Sermon for Epiphany 4 – Luke 4:14-21

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” How’s that for a sermon? The gospel in a nutshell! What else is there to say?