There are . . . → Read More: All the Stockings are hung by the Chimney with care….]]>

Well the sermons are done, the programs are practiced, the booklets being printed. As the sticky post above says, everyone is invited to come and worship. Its good for your soul, even if you don’t know what that word means. At Christmas you find amazing things where you don’t think they belong.

There are several people my thoughts and prayers stray toward at this moment. Most of those prayers are for a measure of peace to be granted. Mixed in with those have been a couple of songs in my “Christmas Album” this year. (Here is the Album, by the Lower Lights – it really is gorgeous) In going through my brothers things I found a huge collection of Christmas albums. I converted most of them to MP3. It reminded me of just how big a softie he could be. Every year he would buy a few more, but they were never the big ones. Not a Mariah Carey to be found. He found singers instead of pop stars; instrumentalists and choirs instead of soloists. So I’ve kinda inherited the tradition. I’m sure sometime in early December to pick up a Christmas album. It doesn’t take but a couple of days of WARM 101.3 “Frosty Fest” after Thanksgiving to get my fill of secular tunes. (If I hear Rudolf or this years off-beat tale of grandma being run over again I’ll beat something.) To hear the sacred takes MP3s it seems.

One of the Songs is I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. Its taken from a Longfellow poem. And the third stanza seems very “unchristmas-y”.

And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Sorry for the downer, but I bring that up for two reasons. First, unlike this plastic season of manic Christmas we seem to get foisted with, the older Christmas was preceded by Advent and had the strength within it to contemplate such things. Look at all the good older Carols and Hymns of Christmas. Look past the first verse into verse 2 and 3. Take What Child is This – “Nails, Spear shall pierce him through, the cross be borne for me, for you”. Take We Three Kings – “Myrrh is mine, is bitter perfume, breathes a life of gathering gloom, sorrowing, sighing, breathing, dying, sealed in a stone cold tomb”. Take Once in Royal David’s City – “For He is our childhood’s pattern, Day by day like us He grew; He was little, weak and helpless, Tears and smiles like us He knew, And He feels for all our sadness, And He shares in all our gladness.” Longfellow talked of all the bells of Christendom. The days of Christendom as Longfellow knew it are over, but that culture knew things that we forgot – or never bring to mind, until forced to.

That brings up the second song on this years album – Stars of Glory. The performance seems designed to break your heart just at the time the soprano’s folk-y voice breaks. The hymn must be a Roman Catholic favorite as it is older. I was not aware of it to my impoverishment. But verse one strikes just the right vein…

Stars of glory, shine more brightly,
Purer be the moon-light’s beam,
Glide ye hours and moments lightly,
Swiftly down times deepening stream,
Bring the hour that banished sadness,
Brought redemption down to earth,
When the shepherds heard with gladness
Tidings of a Saviour’s birth.

The hours and moments gather. Time’s stream deepens. Even in sadness all is not lost. It is brought to fulfillment. The angel’s tidings of peace and joy still ring, even though they are mocked from all corners, because the LORD upholds them. The LORD chose to be with all the moments: Gladness and sadness. Cross and manger; tomb and throne.

I have no interest in a plastic Christmas. But the LORD who can inspire such songs…be near me Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay.

Sermon Text: Luke 1:26-38 Full Text of Sermon

I’m not sure why but Advent 4 (Mary’s week in the lectionary) and Thanksgiving are probably the two occasions that I almost always feel real good about the sermon. On firm Lutheran grounding I’d just say that they are opportunities to proclaim a very clear gospel. In my . . . → Read More: Standby by for some Announcements…]]>

Sermon Text: Luke 1:26-38
Full Text of Sermon

I’m not sure why but Advent 4 (Mary’s week in the lectionary) and Thanksgiving are probably the two occasions that I almost always feel real good about the sermon. On firm Lutheran grounding I’d just say that they are opportunities to proclaim a very clear gospel. In my theological understanding I’d say they are times that give themselves to Christology – and the gospel is first and foremost a proclamation of Christ. If I was being a little more spiritual and sentimental (or Roman Catholic) – I’d say an extra measure of the Spirit is given to preachers talking about Jesus’ mom or eucharist/thanksgiving. Whatever the reason, this a sermon that all I can really say is take a listen…

If I don’t get back here this week, I hope to see you at Christmas Eve or Christmas day services. If you are a remote reader/listener, Merry Christmas and please find a church to celebrate Christmas with this week in your hometown.

Sermon Text Mark 1:1-8 Full Text of Sermon

Mark’s gospel as we have it full of odd turns. He boldly states as his first words the title of this post. But the climax of the story is the cross. The demons and the Roman Centurion crucifying Jesus are the only people in the story who . . . → Read More: The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God]]>

Sermon Text Mark 1:1-8
Full Text of Sermon

Mark’s gospel as we have it full of odd turns. He boldly states as his first words the title of this post. But the climax of the story is the cross. The demons and the Roman Centurion crucifying Jesus are the only people in the story who recognize the Son of God. Peter might see the Christ, but not the Son. The last scene is the women running confused from the tomb. A reader might ask how such a story is Good News – a Christ who is defeated, disciples who scatter, proclamation of resurrection that causes fear and flight.

It is good news because of the totality of the story. God has acted. God continues to act. God continues with beginnings. God continues guiding beginnings to proper endings. But Mark knows that those stories are not simple. There are no easy epiphanies. We hear the Christmas angels and wonder what that could mean. We read the prophets and are stupefied at times. We run with those women away from that angel in the tomb. We’ve heard the good news, but we don’t know the good news. Not in our bones. As Origen says that requires the heart, not the head. We prepare our hearts. We keep our paths straight. We live under the cross, to instruct the heart. So that we might one day know the depth of the good news of Jesus Christ – The Son of God. The Son of God who knows our beginnings, our middles and our ends.

First comment, the Thanksgiving sermon was the better sermon this week. Page down and read that one if you didn’t hear it. That one was winsome and inviting and still crunchy, which by that I mean it had a message behind it that didn’t duck reality. This Sunday sermon was crunchy, but . . . → Read More: Pick it up and read it / Prepare for the Coming King]]>

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First comment, the Thanksgiving sermon was the better sermon this week. Page down and read that one if you didn’t hear it. That one was winsome and inviting and still crunchy, which by that I mean it had a message behind it that didn’t duck reality. This Sunday sermon was crunchy, but winsome…not so much. Which is a deep error when you are trying to get people to do something. In this case pick up the bible and read it.

It was the first Sunday of Advent which means it is new years day in the church. The lectionary rolls over to a different gospel, this year Matthew. The text was Matt 21:1-11 which is the triumphal entry or Palm Sunday. The main textual point is the welcoming of a king. That day 2000 years ago they welcomed a king who came humbly, but wanted the one who came in righteousness. Somewhere in the future, we welcome a king who comes in righteousness, but what is our impression of Jesus? How do we prepare for the coming of a King?

If the Gallup pole is right, we don’t prepare at all. We probably spend more time preparing for Santa than for Christ. And there are many multiple ways of preparing. Reading the scriptures is not the only way of being in the Word. But it is the seedbed. The scriptures are the authoritative way that God has chosen to speak to us. And here I go ranting again. Being open to the scriptures is just that important. Emotionally, I’m grabbing everyone I can by the lapels and shaking – these words are life. Its that important. Make time for it. Make sure your lamps have oil.

I ended the sermon with three questions. Three questions that a Bible literate loving people could chew on. I think these three questions might get to the core spiritual problem of today. I’ve got some personal answers to them, but they are dangerous and tough. And they require a people grounded on the truth of scripture.

1) What does it mean for how we should be living if the first time he came humble, but with righteousness the next time?
2) Where are we like the Galileans hailing the Galilean messiah today, going home and letting Jerusalem do to our messiah as it wills? [That is a question for laymen and women – because we clergy are probably the Jerusalem.]
3) How does a church forced out to the margins of society – forced to live from the Mount of Olives – respond like David – “weeping for the son who forced him out”?

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Text: Luke 7:18-28

The middle two weeks of advent are the weeks of John the Baptist. He’s a forgotten figure in modern Christianity. He doesn’t seem to have much meaning or purpose. We continue to read the stories of the patriarchs. We will talk about the OT prophets. We will give . . . → Read More: What did you come to see? – Luke 7:18-28 – Advent 3]]>

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Text: Luke 7:18-28

The middle two weeks of advent are the weeks of John the Baptist. He’s a forgotten figure in modern Christianity. He doesn’t seem to have much meaning or purpose. We continue to read the stories of the patriarchs. We will talk about the OT prophets. We will give due to the apotles. The later church fathers will also be discusses. John the Baptist, who Jesus declares to be the greatest born of woman, gets left out.

One really good reason is that he more or less gets subsumed under Christ. The life and mission of Jesus overwhelm John who doesn’t leave any writings outside of the voice captured in the gospels. But that doesn’t account for it alone. I think it has more to do with the baptist’s message. It is a sparse and clear proclamation -repent, be baptized and bring forth the fruits of repentance. It is a message that Jesus picks up (Mark 1:14-15).

So much of life is spent finding the middle way. And that is usually the course of wisdom. Stay away from the extremes. Find the middle path through the mess. Just that in regards to truth, finding the middle way leaves you with nothing. God’s grace is not found by splitting the difference with the Baptist. I’ll admit I sin, but living the life or repentance seems extreme. Why this thing called baptism? Isn’t there something grander or more meaningful? The middle way would seem to ask for more than baptism as a sign and seal. In Luke even John seems to have questions. John has not followed the middle way, but things aren’t looking like he expected. He asks Jesus, “are you the one?”

And Jesus doesn’t apologize for the form of grace or the proclamation one bit. In fact he turns to the crowds and asks what did they come to see? They all came to see a prophet. They recognized a truth in John (and in Jesus) that was not just natural wisdom. And that recognition requires more than a middle way response. If you came to see a prophet, and the prophet says God’s grace is here, in water and word, in a crucified peasant, then we should align ourselves with that grace.

It is a great question to many people who come to churches. What did you come to see? If you came to see anything other than the presant grace of God, you’ve got the wrong purpose. Ask youself, what did you come to see? Does the answer require you to make changes?

Underware. That is the term for too much sermon prep work actually making it into the sermon. That was what this one was. There is a really good 700 word meditation at the end, preceeded by 700 words that should not have made it into the final draft.

It is not that the . . . → Read More: Sermon – Luke 1:26-38 – Mary replied I am the slave of the Lord]]>

Underware. That is the term for too much sermon prep work actually making it into the sermon. That was what this one was. There is a really good 700 word meditation at the end, preceeded by 700 words that should not have made it into the final draft.

It is not that the first 700 words are bad. They helped the preacher in understanding and picking that one thread to tug on, but the hearers did not have to hear that.

This was the Sunday of the children’s Christmas service. The older tradition was that the Christmas Eve was the Children’s pageant. In our hurried world we cancel Christmas Day, mvoe the kids to Advent 4 and Christmas Eve becomes the Christmas worship. So, the kids – who are like the old Hollywood saying about being in a movie with kids or animals – don’t – they do two things. 1) They are so cute that anything after them is wasted breath. 2) Congregations are either packed or empty for the kids program. I’ll leave you to think why that is so. What used to be done over three hours or three services (Advent 4, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day) with the time to actually think about the day and its events is done in one day.

I can’t help but think that might be a problem. It says something about a lack of communion in the body of Christ – especially if your congregation falls on the empty side. When 51 of 52 weeks the kids are banished to the nursery so the adults have their worship and then the adult stays away on the 52 sunday for the kids. Is there a connection between not making time for the Christ child and the fact that most of the children have drifted away from the faith and if not the faith the church?

This was the last mid-week sermon.  We had been roughly following a chain of OT promises of the messiah.  The first grouping was about a savior/prophet.  The second group were kingly predictions.  The last group was priestly predictions.  I didn’t start out with prophet, priest and king, but that was always latent and it became more . . . → Read More: Advent Sermon – Symbols of Things – Zechariah 3:8]]>

This was the last mid-week sermon.  We had been roughly following a chain of OT promises of the messiah.  The first grouping was about a savior/prophet.  The second group were kingly predictions.  The last group was priestly predictions.  I didn’t start out with prophet, priest and king, but that was always latent and it became more obvious.  It also made sense to work from prophet, a more or less completely fulfilled role, to the king, which is fulfilled but hidden, and end with the priest, which sacrificial respect is fulfilled but the presense of God sense remains.

Like when Paul talks about Faith, Hope and Love with the greatest being love becuase while faith and hope give way to knowing love will remain, two of the roles of prophet, priest and king will disappear.  We will not need a prophet as all will be known.  We will not need a priest as God will be with His people and they will have been remade.  We will still have a King.

After preaching in what is called a lectio continua (a continuous reading) for most of the summer, fall and early winter, the advent texts are herky jerky.  One moment you are in Mark and the Next you are in John or Isaiah or Paul.  Since I used the Markan text for John the baptist last week . . . → Read More: Sermon – Bad Coinage – 1 Thess 5:16-24]]>

After preaching in what is called a lectio continua (a continuous reading) for most of the summer, fall and early winter, the advent texts are herky jerky.  One moment you are in Mark and the Next you are in John or Isaiah or Paul.  Since I used the Markan text for John the baptist last week (and Mark is the primary Gospel this year), I didn’t jump on the Baptist from John.  The Paul text just jumped out at me on second reading.  I broke a rule about choosing a text and sticking with it as I changed texts last Tuesday after going not the Baptist again.

I am glad I did.  There are many things I like about this sermon.  I still wish I was better at merging interesting life stories into sermons, or maybe that is just I wish I was a better storyteller.  I’m afraid my sermons too often may come off like lectures.  The story I feel best prepared to tell is the biblical story, the story behind the readings.  And I am getting more confident in talking about intersections of that story and our modern existence.   I think this sermon did that as well as I am able to right now.

Too much of religion is just our own version of oral tradition.  We make up laws or only look for laws from religion.  Christianity gets reduced to ethics.  The resurrection of the Son of God morphs into the Judeo-Christian tradition.  That is not what we are waiting for – more tradition or laws.  We are waiting for resurrection, the revealing of glory, the kingdom come.  Our temporary problems with sin and the old order of things passing away are inconsequential to what the Spirit is working in us and the salvation given through Jesus Christ.   Religion is about hope and joy and prayer and thanksgiving.  Not about do’s and don’ts.