Sermons

I have a friend who is a pastor in Atlanta, Georgia. She writes a blog and posts poetry on a website called What the Heart Holds. I have always been drawn to her ministry in community and inter-religious settings. Yet today it is the truth embedded in those 4 simple words, what the heart holds, that catches my attention. I think “what the heart holds” concisely summarizes the complexity in this morning’s biblical texts. I am going to root the foundation of this reflection based the passage from Deuteronomy. However, I do not want to ignore the challenges Jesus sets before us in the reading...
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Today’s sermon comes with a disclaimer: I am not a playwright. Yet this reflection, sermon, story, is a play with 3 acts. It is a different kind of narrative filled with ordinary people, Holy in-breaking, and a new world view. The stage sets range from creation’s courtroom to an outdoor classroom, to the world into which we are living. The plot was introduced in the Bible passages we read last week. It was a storyline full of Holy Disruptions. Leading up to Jesus’ words this morning’s “Blessed are…” we heard this from Matthew 4:24-25: “Word (of Jesus) got around the entire Roman provi...
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It is really pretty simple. Just two steps: 1). Drop your nets and 2). follow Jesus. That’s it. The reading this morning makes it all seem sooooo easy, soooo “of course” this is what we should do. Dropping nets is exactly what the disciples would do in response to meeting Jesus, right? We have come expect no other response. Come on! Let us follow Jesus! Four years ago, I stood along the shore of the Sea of Galilee where the fishing families in the Bible narrative worked over 2,000 years ago. Peter and Andrew. James and John. I can imagine their wood boats. Their hand tied nets. The long ho...
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“With all my heart I praise the Lord, and I am glad because of God my Savior. He cares for me, his humble servant. From now on, all people will say God has blessed me. God All-Powerful has done great things for me, and his name is holy.” (Luke 1: 46-49, CEV) This passage from Luke is often referred to as Mary’s song. A heartfelt response to an encounter with a heavenly being. There is debate as to whether these are words spoken and sung by a very young, 14 or 15-year-old, Mary, or whether it was the older, much later Luke who 70(ish) years later wrote this story to emphasize the prophesies...
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