Luke 1:26-38 John 19: 38 – 20:1 New life starts in the dark. The preacher Barbara Brown Taylor writes this in her book called, Learning to Walk in the Dark. New life starts in the dark. Growth happens in the dark. Right now, every day, I am watching so much growth happening in our yard – trees budding, leaf unfolding; liriope, hosta, lilies all bursting up from the ground, one day there is nothing there, the next day there is a green leafy plant. Last summer I planted some sweet woodruff under a tree. “Grow,” I told it, “spread like you’re supposed to.” It didn’t respond last summer. But this week I Iooked out and saw how much more ground it is covering as it comes up out of the dirt. Clearly, it was doing some work, growing down there in the dark. New life starts in the dark. Like […]
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The Liberator
John 11:1-45 I was once a guest at a family’s dinner table, when they were talking about people they knew. And when the name of one particular person came up, the tone became sharply negative, critical. The matriarch of the family looked up with surprise and a little bit of confusion. Apparently, she had not received the memo: this person is on our bad list now. She looked around and said, “Oh, we don’t like them anymore?” She shrugged. “Okay.” And that was it. The unwritten rule in the household was everyone had to think alike, because disagreeing led to conflict. And “our family,” they would say, doesn’t have conflict. To be fair, all families desire agreement, want harmony in the home. Even if we are willing to harbor some disagreement, we pick our battles carefully. We don’t want conflict for the sake of conflict; if we are going […]
Continue readingThe Face of God
In the Old Testament stories of the fathers of our faith – Abraham, Jacob, Moses – they speak of seeing the face of God. For these men of ancient days, there was the longing to see, the hope of seeing, and yet, for most, the impossibility of seeing God face to face. Still they hoped. We, too, might know this yearning, this desire to see God and feel God’s presence more fully. Because there is something in us that knows: in nearness to God we may know life in its fullness. It is a great mystery, one that we find ourselves drawn to again and again. It is this mystery that showed itself to Mary and Joseph, each one of them visited by an angel. In these visions, or dreams, they learned that they would become parents together of a very special son – one who would bring salvation to […]
Continue readingSacred Knowing
Isaiah 7:10-16 Matthew1:18-25 I don’t think I have ever quoted rap lyrics before, but the words that I keep thinking of all week come from the Notorious B.I.G: If you don’t know, now you know. If you don’t know, now you know: that something, maybe something you never wanted to know, something you never even guessed at…something your imagination could not encompass…well, now you know. Now you know…and the question is, what are you going to do with it? Like King Ahaz, whom we meet in Isaiah. Ahaz is in a tight spot. Caught between two choices, neither of which feels good to him. Ahaz thinks he knows what is right. He knows the law, as he should. But he also knows he is afraid, like everyone else around him is. The Lord comes to Ahaz and asks him: wouldn’t you like to know what I know? But Ahaz doesn’t want […]
Continue readingSacred Space
Isaiah 35:1-10 Luke 1:46-55 Frederick Buechner wrote, “Happiness turns up more or less where you’d expect it to – a good marriage, a rewarding job, a pleasant vacation. Joy, on the other hand, is as notoriously unpredictable as the one who bequeaths it.” And joy is as surprising as usual today in our texts. The song from Isaiah is shockingly glorious! Imagine: the gladness of a dry land; a full blossoming in the desert! Weak hands mysteriously and suddenly made strong! Burning sands become a pool of refreshing water; the haunt of the jackals becomes a reedy, mossy swamp. Life-giving water abounds! A highway runs through it called the Holy Way, and not even a fool could get lost on it! The redeemed shall walk there, they will come singing, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. Everlasting joy, in the place one would least expect it. The Bible […]
Continue readingSacred People
Romans 15:4-13 Matthew 3:1-12 Years ago, Kim and I went out to the store to buy a door mat. We looked around at all the options. I argued that it was essential for us to have a mat that says “Welcome.” You know, just in case someone might think we are not welcoming people, our mat would assure them of our good intentions. But that’s not enough, is it? Having a mat at my door that says “welcome” is like having a sign in my kitchen that says “clean.” It’s a nice thought, but will words actually get it done? Are words enough? Every Sunday I stand in the pulpit and say the word “Welcome” to everyone in the room and everyone watching our livestream. Every Sunday we have someone posted at the parking lot door to welcome each person that comes in. Friendly individuals in our congregation will always make the effort to find the folks who may be here for the first time, or who haven’t been here for a while and offer them a warm welcome. All these things are essential. But […]
Continue readingAdvent One: Sacred Time
Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:36-44 When we come to the season of Advent we begin again. We begin the cycle of our worship year, and we begin with waiting. Waiting accompanies beginnings in a natural way. We wait for the beginning of a new life through nine months of pregnancy. We wait for the beginning of a new school year. We wait for vacations, for promotions, for the release of a long-awaited movie or a new book from a favorite author. We wait for a response to our email. We wait for someone to return our phone call. We are always waiting. We wait for doctor appointments and dentist appointments. We wait for the furniture we ordered to be delivered. We wait. We wait for spring and then for summer. We wait for someone to notice us and offer us what we need. We just wait. We wait for the […]
Continue readingJesus Rules
Jeremiah 23:1-6 Luke 23:33-43 There was a time in my life when I declared myself sovereign ruler of my home, and the kitchen was my throne room. It was a wide open room in the back of the house, from where I could survey my domain. I had a clear view of who entered or exited the front or back door. I could see anyone coming up or down the stairs. I could stand at my counter peeling apples and maintain command over the household. I called out orders as I kneaded dough. I answered questions while I diced onions. And you can be certain, nobody was getting any forbidden snacks, or failing to clean up their messes, while I was in my place. For a time, when they were small enough, I actually extended my kingdom to anywhere I happened to be with my children. They were, the four of […]
Continue readingWhat Lasts
Isaiah 65:17-25 Luke 21:5-19 We have all known hardship and sorrow and loss, I am sure. Although we might not have known it the way Israel did. The Old Testament book of Isaiah tells us of the trials that Israel endured during the 6th century BCE when they were invaded by a powerful enemy – the Babylonians. The city of Jerusalem was protected by strong walls, but the Babylonian army was big enough, powerful enough to wear them down. They laid siege to the city, surrounded it, trapping the Israelites inside. No one could go in or out. The enemy waited. The people inside the walls went through all their food stores, and the Babylonians waited. They waited until the people inside were starving, and then they waited a little more. Finally, they attacked. They trampled, they killed, they set fires. They destroyed the holy temple. The temple that Israel had […]
Continue readingAll the Saints
Ephesians1:11-23 It is what we all dread, although we know it is inevitable. No one on earth lives forever, and the end will come for each one of us, even though we don’t know when. But one day the moment arrives. A loved one dies. It may come so much sooner than was expected that we feel like death has cheated. Or it may come after a long full life – perhaps even as a mercy. In any case, we grieve – for ourselves mostly. We are the ones who will carry the sorrow of the loss. But yet there is a will to be read. A last will and testament that our beloved has left behind. We are called to the reading and so we go. We sit down in front of the attorney’s desk – or counselor, we might call them – and wait to hear what has […]
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