Sermons and other Reflections
in considering this morning’s scripture, I started to wonder if we’ve not only misunderstood how the Christian tradition thinks about non-Christians. We may have also misunderstood something fundamental about Christianity itself. What if Christianity isn’t a way for us to get to God… and everybody else be damned. But what if it’s a way for God to get at us?
Read MoreLike the Pharisees in our passage, we can have all the right opinions on all the right issues. We can serve people, we can give our time, and our money. We can be all about justice. We can do all of these things. And not have a single friend, or relationship with someone who is different than us.
Read MoreEven in the world we live in, words don’t have to be “just words.” The Bible, the Christian tradition, the way of Jesus Christ, puts huge stock in the power of words. “In the beginning” says the book of Genesis. God spoke… and it was.” The cosmos created by an act of loving speech. And Jesus is named as “the Word made flesh.” That same spark that brought the universe in to being was fully present in the life of Jesus. God’s loving speech to us. One who was able to create a whole new world for us with his words, his teachings, and his touch, his death and his new life. And that, by the Spirit, this same spark is able to heal and set free. Able to re-create our own lives and our own world. Here and now.
Read MoreIn our text for this morning, Jesus, the great physician of our souls, offers us a diagnosis. That our hearts are not set where they are supposed to be. They are set towards earthly goods that do not last, and will never satisfy, yes. But Jesus he also offers a treatment. When Jesus says to sell what we have, and give alms, to sell what we have and give it away. He’s giving a prescription for fullness of life. Jesus prescribes giving, he prescribes a deep generosity, as the treatment for what ails our hearts and our souls.
Read MoreIf we’re truly honest with ourselves, Jesus kind of sounds like he’s out of his mind. I don’t mean to sound cynical. But this prayer sounds crazy. It sounds impossible. A prayer for a parking spot actually seems perfectly doable in comparison. Because Jesus’ big prayer just seems a little too big.
Read MoreThis is something I think’s easy for us to forget. In all the worthwhile work it takes in keeping a place like this going, it’s so easy for us to forget why in the first place. Speaking as someone who walked in to a church for the first time a decade ago. We so easily forget that the most attractive thing about us, or a community like ours isn’t the tasks we need done, or the bills we need paying. It’s not the roof that’s being fixed, and it’s not the seats on committees. These are all good things. Necessary things. But they aren’t the inheritance we’ve been given to pass on. Those things are all here to help us pass on our inheritance, what we have to give.
Read MoreYou see, Elijah thought he was finished. He was no longer the person he once was. But God sustained him long enough to bring him in to his presence, and then to give him a whole new commission. He’s no longer fighting kings, no. That life is behind him permanently. Now he’s called to anointing new ones .He has a new vocation. Because God isn’t finished with him yet. Because when one chapter in our lives ends, God always has more in store.
Read MoreYahweh’s blaze of fire was impressive, for sure. But that’s not the real miracle. The real miracle here comes after. The real miracle is the end of the drought. After the fall of the prophets of Ba’al, Elijah confronts the king again. This time, it’s not with judgment. But with good news. With grace.
Read MoreAnd, despite the differences between us in time and space, I believe the community-creating Spirit of God is very much at work drawing us together today. Mysteriously, relentlessly. Past boundaries we once thought were impenetrable. And drawing us in to a story greater than ourselves. Even in a disconnected world like ours. Maybe perhaps especially in a disconnected world like ours.
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