Sermons

December 17, 2017

Third Sunday of Advent

Our reading for today from the Gospel of John contains these lines:

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

Who are you? Has anyone asked you that recently?  And when was the last time you put that question to someone?

In fact, if we pay attention to how our mind works, we will notice that we ask that question of everyone we encounter, whether aloud or silently, to see how they fit into the running narrative in our minds that shapes and makes sense of our reality. What we are really asking is, “What story do you belong to?” And for each person in our lives – whether the stranger, a friend, a lover, a relative, a co-worker – we have constructed an answer to the question of who they are and assigned them an identity and role in a narrative.

The danger is that in our minds the identity of others can easily become fixed and immutable. And that’s when relationships become brittle and can even turn hostile.

December 10, 2017

Second  Sunday of Advent

Patricia Nemore: I’d like to start with a quote from the Boston Declaration of Christian religious leaders, a document endorsed by Seekers Church naming what we think Jesus’s teachings require of us in the 21^st Century:

“We lament national boundaries that make our worries about security a pretext for destroying the lives of others. . .”

This is the time of year when we encounter the story of the family that arrived in town after a long trip too late to find lodging and so spent the night or a lot of nights in a barn, where their baby was born.  And then fled their homeland to a foreign country to keep their tiny child safe from being murdered by a powerful king.

So, then, a great time of year to talk about others fleeing their homelands for safety or a better life, and more specifically, to talk about the situation of those who emigrate to the US without the documents deemed necessary to cross our borders. 

December 3, 2017

First Sunday of Advent

Are there any of you here who remember about seven cycles ago when this passage of the Bible came up? Our common lectionary, chosen for gender inclusive and less hierarchical language, parses the entire Old and New Testaments into sections so that the entire book, minus any sad Lamentations or salacious Psalms or poems of David, is read every three years. And 21 years ago, the youth made a service out of the theme “Stay Awake”. They stressed the importance of noticing the details of creation to keep alive a sense of wonder, and the need to keep alert for the needs and wants of those around oneself so that we each are open to helping and giving to those who have nothing. This is about the time Samantha and April were the teen idols, and Marian, Lauren, Chris Amoss, Andy Homes and my children, were the pre-teen followers who hung on their every word. I want to keep a sense of the freshness and intensity which they brought to this message—I am still like a pre-teen follower to those who are discovering the joy of serving others. That is why I stayed in Girl Scout leadership for so long, why I welcome observers to my class at N Street Village, and why I train new volunteers for Arlington Thrive. I think that if I stay awake, God will bring me awareness of new people and new situations that allow me to use my gifts, and bring me connection with new people and issues in the world.

November 26, 2017

Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46, Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24, Psalm 80:1-17, 17-19, Ephesians 1: 15-23

Good morning Seekers Family.  This is the last Sunday of the church year and is known as known as the reign of Christ Sunday.  Next Sunday, Advent starts (so soon, right?) and we begin year B in the lectionary.

Today, as our church year ends, we look at the role of Jesus Christ in the last judgement.  In our gospel reading from Matthew, he describes what Jesus said about the last judgment using the parable of the sheep and the goats. This parable is the last of several parables about the return of Jesus after he ascends to heaven.  In the immediate preceding weeks, we read from Mathew those other parables about Jesus’ return such as the parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the two sons, and the parable of the talents for example.

November 19, 2017

Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Text: Matthew 25: 14-30 the Parable of the Talents

A strange picture of God has emerged from the gospel texts in the past several weeks. At a wedding feast, the “master” expels a guest who isn’t wearing the right clothes. Last week, five foolish virgins are locked out of the wedding festivities because they hadn’t planned well. And this week, a fearful man with only one talent is cast into “utter darkness where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth.” On the surface, each of these stories picture God as harsh and unforgiving – an arbitrary and judgmental master.

That image is just the opposite of the compassionate God that Jesus has been preaching about earlier in Matthew. If we take this particular parable literally, the poorest man fares very badly. And in some Christian circles, this parable has been used to justify prosperity-gospel thinking:  that the rich deserve to get richer and the poor should literally be punished.