Sermons

Summer

July 24, 2022

“Teach us to pray,” the disciples said, “the way John taught his disciples.” As Luke tells the story, Jesus then gave them the right words to use, and many Christians have prayed the Lord’s prayer on autopilot ever since. In the language of King James, it’s “Our Father, who art in heaven….”

Didn’t they already know how to pray? We know they’ve been praying to heal the sick, cast out demons and preach the nearness of God’s realm, so why this poignant new request – teach us to pray?

Trinity

July 17, 2022

Our theme for this Pentecost season is “Wisdom is Calling.” The reflection question has been “Who are you listening to?” Good question! To which I might add… and how are you listening?  

When I looked at the scriptures for this week, they felt really relevant to where we are as a community. I knew I’d offered the Word on them before and wanted to offer something different.  

While I was wandering around in my head looking for a metaphor to help focus my thoughts, I heard something unexpected that woke me up to a new possibility. Sitting on the back porch with Marjory over a late supper after the Celebration Circle meeting last Wednesday, I heard the insistent call of a cicada! First one of the year! Right outside in the catalpa tree! Piercing and insistent. A cicada! Could that, somehow, be wisdom calling?

Trinity

July 10, 2022

Good morning. In Jeremiah 1:9, Jeremiah denied skill in oratory, and the Holy One’s answer was that the words which he has to speak were not his own. The words were given to Jeremiah by God. So, I pray,

In her sermon last Sunday, Brenda pointed out that we’ve had two thousand years to accept the idea that holiness is an inside job, not a matter of following certain prescribed customs and rituals, or of being fortunate enough to belong to a particular chosen people or tribe.  Holiness is about inner transformation.  But this would have sounded bizarre and possibly outrageous to the people of Jesus’ time.  And it may still sound bizarre to many so-called religious people, including, sometimes, me.

Trinity

July 3, 2022

We have an interesting set of texts this morning to work with:

We have Naaman complaining because what he was asked to do was too easy.

We have Paul writing to the church in Galatia, saying, “sow from the Spirit so that the harvest is of the Spirit,” explaining that it is an inner transformation which is the goal in following Jesus, not anything we do outwardly to our bodies.

And in Luke, Jesus gives his disciples instructions on how to carry the good news to all who will listen. Jesus tells his disciples to proclaim to all who will listen, “The kin-dom of God has come near to you!”

Trinity

June 19, 2022

Good morning.  Before getting into my sermon, I want to simply acknowledge Father’s Day and Juneteenth.  One year ago today, our nation created an official holiday to celebrate the freedom of those who were enslaved…

Those who preach from this podium often speak of being intimidated.  Here’s one reason why.  We’ve got lots of lawyers.  Additionally, we’ve got the ordained, the professors, the sponsors and practitioners of 12-step programs.  We’ve got biblical scholars.  We’ve got the contemplatives and those firmly committed to daily disciplines of scripture reading, journaling, and prayer.  For those standing at this podium, Seekers is a tough crowd.