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Up one levelLearning from Mary in Advent: A Sermon
The focus of the Fourth Sunday of Advent is on Mary. Our Gospel reading recalls the meeting of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, and Mary. These were two unknown, unimportant women in their own society, but God uses them as the means to begin His work of salvation in Christ. The Gospel begins in the maternity ward. The Psalm today is Mary’s song, praising God for what He has done for her and His people. It is a subversive, revolutionary hymn, for it tells of how God overturns all our ideas about who is important and who is not, Who takes the side of the poor, the lowly, the weak, the outcast, Who fulfills His promises to His people to be their help and salvation...
Sermon for Holy Cross Day 2009
It may seem ironic or perhaps irenic, that on a day when we gather to consider the future of this church and our place within its ministry and mission, we find ourselves at the foot of the cross, in the place of suffering and in the place of death. While we would rather be anywhere else, spending our time and effort on other more productive aspects of our church life, this, brothers and sisters, is where Christ has led us. To put it bluntly, if we dare to dream or claim that we are “a Resurrection people, who pray first and walk together,” we must admit to ourselves and proclaim to the world, along with Christ, that there is no resurrection without death...
Take the Test: A Sermon on Genesis 22:16
Today we’re radicals because we’ve read Genesis 22 out loud in church on the near sacrifice of Isaac. Many Christians today are saying that these Bible verses shouldn’t be read in church because they scare children–traumatizing them with the thought that God might also ask their parents to kill them. So why have we today, blithely and a bit recklessly, waded into these deep and dangerous waters?...
Christ beyond Fear: A Sermon
Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." The peace that Jesus brings is not the sort of peace we could ever think up for ourselves, St. Paul tells us. Writing to the Philippians, Paul tells us that “the peace of God passes all understanding” but it “will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (4:7). That doesn’t sound like the peace we mean or the peace we want. It doesn’t sound like the peace that will make the fears and chaos and struggle of our lives today go away and make us solvent, safe, and secure again. How can our hearts and minds feel peace when everything around us is going to pieces?...
Sermon of Straw #16
Here we are at the end of James. Let’s take a look at what we’ve figured out about this little book so far. It’s true James doesn’t have a lot to say about Jesus. In fact, the book mentions Jesus only once! It doesn’t give us any details about his life or reminders of his crucifixion for our sins or hope based in his resurrection. That is, of course, what prompted Luther to say that James is an epistle of straw. But straw isn’t worthless; it’s actually quite good food for your livestock. You just don’t want to build a house out of it in case the big bad wolf comes around...
Sermon of Straw #15
Today James urges Christians to pray – to pray for ourselves as we confess our sins and cry out for healing; to pray in happy times with songs of praise; to pray for one another in the church; to ask the pastors (the elders) of the church to pray for the sick and anoint them with oil; to pray for those that have wandered away from fellowship in the Gospel. James presents prayer as a great gift from God’s gracious hand, for surely God wants to hear our prayers. James tells us that the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working...
Sermon of Straw #14
Children can be rather impatient, as you all know. There is really only one exception to that rule, and that is when somebody is baking Christmas goodies. Then kids are not rather impatient; they are totally impatient. They can’t wait until the goodies come out of the oven: they come back to check the timer every minute or so, hoping that ten minutes have gone by; they give orders to take the cookies out of the oven right now, because they are sure the cookies really are done; and when the cookies finally do come out, they ignore any warnings about how hot those cookies might be. Stuff one in the mouth; run around like a wild man because it’s hot, hot, hot; then do the same thing with another one. A mom looking to stock up on cookies for Christmas Day has to be careful to keep hungry hands off of the cookies, or they’ll all disappear before they’re needed...
Sermon of Straw #13
James seems to give us a sure-fire guaranteed method for health using oil, which was the medicine of the day. Jesus has a radically different solution for our problems, and his solution involves the use of a well-oiled chain saw...
Sermon of Straw #12
One of the things I enjoy most about my annual vacation is worshiping with other congregations. I feel kind of like a homemaker who, after planning, preparing and serving family meals day after day, welcomes the chance to go out and enjoy a meal planned, prepared and served by someone else...
Sermon of Straw #11
Today James tells us perhaps the most obvious fact in the world. Words have power. Indeed let me say it again. Our words have power! Today James wants us to do more than to recognize the obvious. James wants us to pay attention to the obvious. Both how we speak and what we have to say has tremendous power to heal or to destroy. As tiny as the human tongue is, it can be a lethal weapon or a skilled tool for building people up and even restoring them. James reminds us that we Christians are not our own. We belong to God...
Sermon of Straw #10
My wife and I have a friend from our seminary days whose mother kept telling as she grew up, “You’re going to marry a pastor.” The young woman kind of scoffed at the idea— nothing wrong with pastors, you see, but being married to one, that was a different story. She went off to college, and she met a man, and she married him—and the guy wasn’t even a Lutheran! Here she was, her life in her hands, and her mother’s predictions proven false. Then life threw her a curve ball—or maybe her husband pitched it, or maybe even God himself...
Sermon of Straw #9
The second lesson for the past few weeks has come from the letter of James, the brother of Jesus, an often overlooked gem of the New Testament. In today’s text, he continues to write very practical words about the struggles that we Christians face as we seek to live as God would have us live, and as we want to live. One particular verse here is on my heart this morning, verse 16 of chapter 5: “Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.”...
Sermon of Straw #8
In his epistle, St. James writes: "What good is it...if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?...[F]aith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. (2:14,17)" And as Lutherans we respond and say: "Whoa, now! Wait a minute there!" That doesn't sound like what we have been taught; I thought we were saved by faith...
Sermon of Straw #7
Have your ever visited a foreign culture? Have you ever had that experience of being the one that doesn’t know the language and customs of another people? It can be quite uncomfortable. You look for a friendly face. You listen for one familiar voice. You look for someone that can translate for you and make the strange intelligible...
Sermon of Straw #6
Remember Rosa Parks? She is the African-American woman known for staying in her seat in a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955 when the bus driver moved the “Colored Section” sign to accommodate white passengers. African-Americans had long been relegated to a sort of second-class status. Our culture and our laws were set up to remind them of their status, and where they could sit was a big part of it. Where you sat said something about your status back then. Sitting up front meant you had higher status. Sitting in the back meant you had lower status. The same was true in the ancient world...
Sermon of Straw #5
Several years ago the Sacramento Bee told a story about Marvin, a homeless man who lived wherever he could along the Sacramento River. He was about 45 at the time, an alcoholic, dirty, destitute—not exactly, he would admit, a model citizen. One afternoon he was hanging around the edges of a street fair downtown when he noticed a young boy sitting alone on the grass. He was about four years old, and Marvin thought he looked a little overwhelmed. Marvin watched him for a long time, and gradually came to the realization that this boy didn’t seem to have any adult connected to him...
Sermon of Straw #4
How grateful are you? That’s what the apostle James is asking us today. Are you grateful enough to do more than listen to God? Are you actually grateful enough to do something about what you have heard?...
Sermon of Straw #3
You are not saved by doing good works, but He who saves you through His Word calls you to do good works. You are not saved by refraining from sin in your life, but He who saves you through His Word calls you to refrain from sin in your life. “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (James 1:21 NIV). Christ gave his life to save us from sin, and he rose from the dead to give us new lives. We Christians are stewards of the salvation he won for us...
Sermon of Straw #2
Channel-surfing a few days ago, I came upon one of those so-called “infomercials.” This one had nothing to do with diets, psychics, or get-rich-quick schemes. No, it was none other than Charlton Heston, peddling membership in the National Rifle Association, of which he is the current president. His pitch was interspersed with pictures of NRA rallies showing happy gun owners carrying picket signs with messages like: “More Guns—Less Crime” and “An Armed America Is a Safe America.” As a special introductory offer, new members would receive (honestly, I’m not making this up) a silver bullet, engraved with Mr. Heston’s personal autograph!...
Sermon of Straw #1
Have you ever been in a place where you don’t belong and the people there let you know it? I had that experience at a local men’s clothing store. I went to the store on my day off (which means I didn’t shave), my pants were very casual (the ones I wear to mow the lawn), and I was wearing one of my favorites shirts (Ronald Reagan was president when I bought it). I thought I looked okay, but the sales staff did not approve of my scruffy face, my worn-out pants, and my old shirt. The sales staff gave me that what-are-you-doing-here? look, and they asked if they could help me, making it obvious that the last thing they wanted to do was help anyone as shabby as me...