Miracles Reconsidered
The Rev. Dr. Joanna Adams sermon, “Miracles Reconsidered,” is based on the two miracles of Jesus in John 6. “Sometimes our modern minds have a hard time believing in the miraculous as it comes to us from the ancient texts of Scripture, which were written, after all, by and for people who had no trouble believing in the miraculous. We likely lean more in the direction of incredulity. We cook up rational explanations to explain them away. Maybe there was a big stash of fish and bread hidden behind a tree or a bush, which Jesus used to feed all those people,” she says. “Do you believe in miracles?”
Counterfeit Clergy
The Rev. William E. Flippin, Jr., ecumenist, political activist, grassroots organizer, and pastor, is the featured preacher July 21st. He draws his sermon, “Counterfeit Clergy,” from Jeremiah 23:1-6, where he says, “Jeremiah’s warning to the kings of Judah should hit us present-day shepherds about six inches above the clerical collar whether we’re mega-church or mini-church shepherds.” In the interview with Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime that accompanies this sermon, Flippin Jr. also talks about how the game of chess informs his ministry, and what he would be excited to learn if he ever had the chance to play chess with Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Truth and Consequences
“Truth and Consequences,” Lundblad’s sermon for July 14, is based on Mark 6:14-29. This is the story of Herod’s banquet and the beheading of John the Baptist. Lundblad reminds us that John was beheaded because he told the truth and notes that others throughout history were truth tellers. It cost them dearly. “God calls you and me to tell the truth about whatever diminishes life and wholeness for any person,” she says. “We don't speak up because we want to be martyrs. We speak and act because we believe God's kingdom has come near and that makes all the difference.”
Appreciated But Not Always Wanted
“Appreciated But Not Always Wanted,” Qualls’ sermon for July 7, is based on Mark 6:1-13, the account of Jesus’s teaching in the synagogue in his hometown. “I wonder how we wrestle with disbelief in our faith?” he says. “When a truth comes bursting into our lives whose timing is so bad, so inconvenient that we just don’t want it to be so . . . then we wrestle with our own disbelief.”
Healing Faith
“Healing Faith,” Dr. Kim Buchanan’s sermon for June 30, is based on the encounter of Jesus with the woman who suffered from hemorrhages found in Mark 5:21-43. “Over the centuries this woman’s story has been told, many people — perhaps especially other women — have found courage in her gutsy faith,” she says. “Looking at her actions through the lens of community and isolation, though, the question comes —What if her faith didn’t have to be gutsy? How might the story have gone differently if the woman had had a community of friends and family?”
Is Jesus in Your Boat?
Dr. Quincy Brown says the good news of this gospel story is that Jesus tells the disciples to cross to the other side of the late, meaning that he will be present with them - and us - when we are crossing over the obstacles, problems, and uncertain situations in our lives.
Ezekiel's Tree
The Rev. Dr. Otis Moss explores the prophet/poet Ezekiel's words about God's tree, where diversity and equality thrive because they are sourced in the rich soil of faith and the power of the Son.
Trading Our Sorrows
In her sermon, Dr. Joy J. Moore say the people of Samuel’s day don’t seek hospitality and holiness; they settle for profit, power, and prestige. And the same is true today, as we still put our trust in those in power rather than in the king that God has given us in Jesus Christ—a far different kind than any earthly king.
The Man with the Withered Hand
In her sermon, Dr. Ellen Richardson says Jesus broke the rules to heal people, to restore them to a fullness of life denied by their afflictions, you told us. His healing was a way of entering into the suffering of others, a response not of pity, but of empathy. This is how the man with the withered hand was healed--and he came out of the shadows and into the light.
The Banana Slug, the Leaves, and the Triune God
In his Trinity Sunday sermon, Dr. Greg Cootsona says that realizing that our Triune God is with us might be as simple as pausing and taking in the beauty that’s around us. So let's pay attention.
Understood
The Rev. Juan Carlos Huertas says Ascension Sunday moved us from the long narrative of Jesus’ life, which culminated with his death and resurrection, and now lands us at this moment--and as Jesus ascends to the heavens, we like the disciples are left wondering--what now?
Why Are You Looking Up?
The Rev. Juan Carlos Huertas says Ascension Sunday moves us from the long narrative of Jesus’ life that culminated with his death and resurrection and now lands us at this moment--and as Jesus ascends to the heavens, we, like his disciples, are left wondering--what now?
Bring Love to Your Neighborhood
The Rev. Chelsea Waite encourages us to inhale the love that flows from God to Christ, to the Holy Spirit, to us. Society still seems to refuse to accept the call of Jesus in John 15 to “love one another as I have loved you,” period. Simply love—without trying to figure out what we can get out of the deal.
Justice Denied—Except from the God of Love
In this world, the poor, the ravaged, the humiliated ones are left on the outside. But in the justice of God, the poor and afflicted, the ravaged and humiliated shall be welcomed. In their pride and in their prejudice, human beings (even religious people; perhaps especially religious people) devote so very much energy to judging and excluding people like dark-skinned Ethiopians, the disabled and the different, the poor and the homeless. But God does not see people the way that we do, and so, the psalmist is sure that all those who seek shall praise God and find God's welcome.
Just Keep Walking
When we focus on the word “walk” in Psalm 23, we realize that any time we find ourselves in the shadow of the valley of death or the shadow of a huge obstacle or the shadow of change and transition, the best and only thing we can do is keep walking. Just keep walking. You want to obsess over finding cause and effect. Fine. But just keep walking. You want to rail at God about your pain or misfortunes. Fine. Just keep walking. You want to ask why all the time. Fine. Just keep walking. Why? Because with movement comes meaning.
Witness for the Resurrection
History abounds with stories about what can happen when people hear the Good News shared by a believer. You’ve probably heard one. Maybe you are one of these stories of lives changed by an encounter with the resurrected Christ though the witness of someone else. Sometimes it’s as simple as a foster parent I know who regularly says to those she cares for, “God loves you, and I do, too.” Other times it’s the answer to a question. A person may ask you, “How are you able to...
Believing Is Seeing
I don't know many people who would buy a used car sight unseen. No, they go and they check it out. They drive the thing. This is the doctrine we live by: "Seeing is believing." But here is a truth with which we must come to terms today. The church of the resurrected Jesus Christ is founded on a complete reversal of this doctrine. Now, it is "believing is seeing," and not the other way around.
God Says, "Nevertheless!"
In his Easter message, the Rev. Marek Zabriskie says God's answer to whatever threatens, imperils, or ails us is to write "nevertheless" over our lives, and to move the immovable stones that are blocking us from living the kind of life that God is calling us to lead.
Embodying the Realm of God
On this Palm Sunday, I wonder about the opportunity we have to confess the fact that in a deep way, maybe somatically, maybe through the structures of empire, we are complicit in worshipping the machinations of empire rather than living from the sacrament of our baptism, following the vulnerable, truth-telling ways of Jesus of Nazareth. Confession, letting go, untethering from the ways of empire are the ways in which we walk into salvation through Jesus Christ. But it also means that we have to be intentional with how we live and yes, the reflective time that we have every day.
Revolution or Revelation?
The inimitable Elizabeth Schuyler chides Alexander Hamilton in Lin Manuel-Miranda’s fabulous couplet: “You want a revolution? I want a revelation.” The crowd may have gathered expecting a revolution, a king who would topple the government, flip the script, and change their lot. But what they received was a revelation. Jesus is absolutely revealed in our sanctuaries, whether they swell to pre-pandemic participation, or whether they tenderly care for a remnant few. We can indeed catch a glimpse of Jesus in moments of transcendence witnessing art and song and dance and spectacle. But Jesus’ reminders in this final discourse are ordinary, mundane, and simple. A seed in the ground. A grain of wheat. And a final blessing, as Jesus reminds the crowd and his beloved followers, “The light is in you.”