Who is Jesus? That question doesn't need to be asked here, does it? This is a Christian church, after all. A Lutheran congregation. That's the kind of question we ought to be asking out in the world. When was the last time you asked that question? And what sort of answer did you receive? How…
She just wouldn't take no for an answer, this pesky Canaanite woman. No matter what Jesus said to her, she just kept coming back like a bulldog, with a faith that wouldn't let go no matter what. And even more amazing - this was an outsider to Israel! That's what this Gospel is all about…
Fear is the undertow in this morning's Gospel reading. Fear threatens to swallow up Peter and the disciples in their little boat. Fear paralyzes, wears us down, erodes our faith, generates doubt. To the disciples' fear, and to ours, Jesus speaks His Word, "Take heart. It is I. Do not fear."
If you take…
The most popular Christmas song of all time has nothing whatsoever to do with Jesus. The song is “White Christmas,” the song written by Irving Berlin in 1942 during WWII. He wrote it for a musical called “Holiday Inn.” It was recorded by Bing Crosby and became an instant hit with the…
Every birth is preceded by a conception and a pregnancy. My point is theological, not biological. Before the Word made Flesh appeared in a manger in Bethlehem, He dwelled among us in the womb of His mother for nine months. That’s the focus of this morning - the plain fact that…
John the Baptizer, witness, forerunner, way-preparer. He came in the wilderness to prepare people for the coming of Christ. John was a prophet, standing in the breach, with one foot in the old covenant, one foot in the new. John was a plow, cutting through the hard pack, turning over the soil…
From palms to passion, from shouts of Hosanna to cries for crucifixion. This Sunday has everything. It begins with the waving of palm branches in procession, it ends with the cross. We call it Passion Sunday, the older, more historic name for Palm Sunday. Palms are part of our Lord’s Passion,…
There are three signs this morning that tell me it’s the second Sunday in Advent. Two candles burning on the Advent wreath. John the Baptizer emerging from the wilderness to preach a baptism of repentance. And Nancy Clarke with her oboe. It just isn’t Advent without the sound of that oboe.…
Happy New Year! No, I haven’t slipped a month. Nor did you slip into a turkey induced coma and sleep right through the so-called “holiday season.” Today is the Feast of St. Andrew, the brother of Peter, one of the fishermen-disciples of Jesus. And falling on a Sunday, it’s also the…
We are at the end. The Sunday of the Fulfillment. The last Sunday of the church year. Next week, if there is a next week, we start all over again with Advent, looking toward the second appearing of Christ as we prepare to celebrate His first appearing. But today marks the…