Fishing for People: A Sermon on Luke 5:1-11 for Epiphany 5C
Do not demand agape, a deep, transforming love, if what is on offer is phileos, a binding, affectionate love. An Epiphany 5C sermon starter.
Violence
We are (or could be) the New Jerusalem: A Sermon for All Saints on Revelation 21:1-6a
? What if this passage is meant to be descriptive – what could happen – rather than prescriptive – what God will do? What if it is our responsibility to be the New Jerusalem and make room for God to live among us?
In Search of God’s Good Pleasure
Anger. Outrage. Despair. These feelings coursed through my body, and linger even now. At first I heard that none of the officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s murder were indicted. Then I saw that one officer was charged with “wanton endangerment.” Not because Breonna Taylor died. Rather, because the other bullets endangered Breonna’s white neighbors. It … Read More
Be Barefoot with Moses, Paul, and Jesus
Anyone remember the story of Moses and the burning bush? It isn’t really the cute children’s story we might have learned in Sunday School. And it isn’t one of those stories that had meaning then and is unclear for today. With the shooting of Jacob Blake last week and the Uprisings in Minneapolis last night, … Read More
No Room For Love… Maybe Soon?
On Christmas Day an old hotel burned to the ground in Minneapolis, MN. It was a building with a lengthy history and it was the residence of those on shelter waiting lists. The hotel had not been well-maintained and wasn’t a particularly safe place to live. Yet, it was what was available to those who … Read More
From Death to Life
Those little purple faces poking up next to the sidewalk on my way out of church on Sunday were nearly my undoing. Not exactly the color purple in a field, but I noticed. I saw them innocently reaching for the sun, the first of spring flowers I’ve seen this year. And, yes, I thanked God … Read More
Leaving Jerusalem
Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid in the deepest night where terror has free reign. Do not be afraid when rulers threaten death and destruction. Do not be afraid when you are lost and alone. Do not be afraid when there is no way through the wilderness. Do not be afraid when the … Read More
Life on the Edge
I am afraid of heights even though I don’t want to be. If I am up high and get the feeling like I could fall, vertigo hits in a big way. I get dizzy and hear buzzing in my ears which increases the feeling that I could fall. It doesn’t matter how safe I am, … Read More
The Way of Peace
I genuinely like this time of year. The Christmas lights and the menorah candles shine out as a reminder that there is more to the world than we usually allow ourselves to see. I laugh out loud at the lawns crammed full of over-sized holy family members side-by-side with inflated snowmen and moving reindeer. I’m … Read More
Cleaning up God’s House
When I was very young I thought God was the “man in the moon.” I had heard people talking about the moon having a face and referring to it as the “man in the moon.” I don’t think I’ve ever been able to make out the face that is supposedly visible in profile on the … Read More