Sermons

February 24, 2013

As most of you know, in September, I was diagnosed with progressive cognitive impairment that's almost certainly Alzheimer disease.  Living with Alzheimer's has helped me to internalize a lot of theology in these past five months, and I want to share some of that with you this morning.  Actually, I can't attest to it really being theology, but Fred has assured me that when we talk about the deepest human issues, we're talking about theology. 

As I've described to many of you, I've had symptoms for over two years but didn't recognize them as Alzheimer's until a visit to a neurologist in September.  Since then there's been a slow but noticeable decline in my ability to remember and to think clearly.  If you talk with me much and pay attention you'll notice my memory loss and my trouble finding the right words; I've made enough mistakes as treasurer in the past few months to ask Kate Lasso to take over the books within the next several weeks; and I've had a few episodes of confusion.  Assuming it's Alzheimer's--and there's no reason to think it isn't--I can expect ongoing mental deterioration:  Loss of reasoning ability, trouble with judgment, memory loss so extreme I won't recognize even Marja, and, eventually, inability to care for myself.  About 75% of people with Alzheimer's ultimately require institutional care.

First part of two-part sermon by Dawn Longernecker and Harold Vines.    Click here for second part.

February 10, 2013

Good morning. Thank you for inviting Harold and me to speak with you today.  We both feel called to deal with the issue of Race in this community, and this has drawn us to the same spiritual support group and now the same Mission Group.  We’re excited to share with you why we are so interested in this area.  Also, I’m going first as I’ve learned that white people need to speak up more on this topic, and help frame this as an issue that affects us all.                         

Coming here to Church of the Saviour & working with the Discipleship Year (DY) program has awakened in me a passion that I haven’t experienced since my young-adult days when I was on fire to work with the homeless and be part of Sojourners Community. Those were days for me of idealism and excitement when my passions ran high (This was also when I fell in love with Jim, shared $ in common in community, got arrested fighting militarism, and was out to change the world!) Those were the good old days.

Second part of two-part sermon by Harold Vines and Dawn Longernecker.  Click here for first part.

February 10, 2013
Shared sermon with Dawn Longenecker

Thank you for this invitation to join you today.  I’m feeling a lot of joy being here, among you.  When I first came to the Church of the Saviour community I was a broken person, with a lot of pain I was carrying from my past experiences with Racism.  I took classes at the Servant Leadership School and was encouraged by individuals here to consider what my ‘call’ was.  At first I had a hard time understanding what that even meant.  As I prayed about it and talked with people, I realized my call was to work on the issue of Racism that has affected me so strongly in my life.  This has been my focus these many years, here within this church community.    

I learned here that church doesn’t just have to meet on Sunday morning and can be held in a coffee shop!  You have gatherings on weeknights as well.  I’ve been a member of Friends of Jesus Church since arriving here, most recently becoming a Covenant Member and now am Co-Pastor at this church.  I shared my spiritual autobiography with them during this process recently.  This was difficult to do, as I wrote about the pains and struggles in my life.  Here within the Church of the Saviour, I’ve faced other challenges as well.  There have been times when I haven’t felt comfortable in this community.  But I was sustained by some of you here individually (I won’t mention names; you know who you are), and by my spiritual support group.  In our group, we have a discipline of no cross talk.  I shared my struggles and pain and people listened.  This was what I needed.  It helped me face the pain and move on. 

February 3, 2013

It is always such a joy to preach here at 8th Day because you are a community that thinks and feels from the heart. You ask the deep questions and deserve deep responses. So I also am intimidated to preach here for those very same reasons. Will what I have to offer be enough for what we need to hear? I’m glad to know you’re listening from the heart; I will try to speak from the heart as well.

I’ve learned a few things about myself this week, one of which is that nothing makes household chores look quite so alluring as having a sermon to prepare. The “Big Project” hovers over me, accompanies me every moment, yet countless picayune tasks poke into my line of vision, take on a certain glow, and I absolutely cannot resist the inclination tode-clutter the drawers of the dining room buffet, or rearrange the knickknacks, or dust the hidden corners; oh, and that “mixed-up-batch-of-stuff” drawer—the “junk drawer” there to the left of the sink, you know the one I mean—suddenly cries out to be dumped and sorted, all the nails and bits of wire and broken rubber bands put into proper order; and while I’m downstairs, I’m noticing that it might make more sense to move that big arm chair over there, in that other corner of the living room…. You get the idea. I used to think I was just procrastinating, but now I think I’m bargaining with God. “Look at all I’m doing,” I am saying. “I’m taking care of so many small things. Would it be too much to ask you to take care of the Big Project?” So, we’ll see how God did…and at least you can be glad with me that Andrew’s House is now in pretty good order.

January 27, 2013

Text: 2nd Kings 5: 1-14

Does anyone here desire restoration, newness, healing and wholeness in one or more areas of your life? What about your relationships with family, friends, work colleagues and others? What about your work life, professional life, volunteer work or mission? What about your physical or emotional health? What about your call, your spiritual journey?

Namaan was a man in search of restoration, newness and healing. What does his story have to say to us about where and how we might find these?  Pay close attention to the vivid characters in the story. At the end two questions will be posed which may help us in our own quests.

We have in Namaan a very impressive and important man, a person of great personal courage and great accomplishments in military warfare. He was highly valued by the king of Syria for the battles he has won but Namaan was a leper.

January 6, 2013

It’s Epiphany Sunday, which, since the second century of the Christian era, has been the time in the church calendar when we commemorate Jesus’ birth as well as his baptism by John.  Later on the focus of Epiphany became the visit of the Three Wise Men to the baby Jesus, which is the subject of today’s reading from the book of Matthew.   

Epiphany is a Greek word that means "appearance" or "coming into light." The season's focus is one of light, and of Christ as the light of the world.  Because we commemorate the visit of the Wise Men on Epiphany, this has also been a season when the Church has emphasized the inclusion of Gentiles in the covenant that God established through Jesus Christ.  The wise men who came to Jesus were the first of millions of Gentiles who have come to claim a covenant relationship with the loving God who has been revealed in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

December 30, 2012

As you know, this weekend was the Feast of the Holy Innocents which commemorates the slaughter of the innocents murdered by King Herod.   I would like to begin by sharing with you my experience this past Friday when several Catholic Worker communities marched along the highway leading to the main entrance of the Pentagon to mourn the children who  continue to be victims of violence. During the procession, the group halted twice, and the leader read a litany, followed by the response , “God hear our prayer.”  When we arrived at the entrance of the Pentagon, we gathered in a circle, and as the group repeated the litany, some of the participants dropped  to the ground to represent the victims of violence. As the police proceeded to arrest them, the crowd sang, “And they shall turn their swords into plowshares, and nations will learn war no more.”

December 16, 2012

Scripture: Isaiah 40:3-5

Video by Sean Reeder titled, “Yosemite--Range of Light”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_QqfifH3-rk

Let us pray:

Dear God,                                                                                                                  

For many of us today our minds are reeling with the violence--

Emblematic of violence all over the world but this time touching us close to home;

The violence visited upon our innocent children in Connecticut, and those who love them.

Comfort your people, Lord. We cannot in our grief imagine how it is possible,

but with You it is possible to bring comfort, and one day, healing.

You know us, through and through:

each thought and feeling, our every word and action,

all that is conscious and unconscious within us—

our love and our sin.

December 9, 2012

Text: Luke 3:1-6

I. Outline of Introduction::

Christmas—favorite time

Day after Thanksgiving—got out the boxes, bought the tree, put on the music—Bach’s Oratorio, Messiah. 71 Christmas CDs.  Ordered 3 more.

But I wonder—does all the sentiment, celebration, and delight of the season obscure its message?

Culture at large gets terribly confused.

Where does God’s Word come?  Where is it heard?

        Not in the seats of power, or in the temples of popular culture       

        But the Word of God comes to John,  in the wilderness.

God’s word comes to places where we might not expect it

        Out of the way places—out in the Judean countryside,  or at a stable in Bethlehem

        Wilderness

                Remote, desolate, Da Bar --- “No Word”

This Advent we ask:  where do we hear the promise of God’s coming? 

November 18, 2012 

“Where are the nine? Were not all healed?”

Luke tells the familiar story of the ten lepers who come to Jesus asking for help. He tells them to go to the priests. One comes back to Jesus falling at his feet in gratitude; Jesus pulls him up to his feet and asks: Were not all healed? Where are the other nine?

He expresses a very human feeling of being hurt because the other nine lepers who were also healed did not come to show their gratitude to him. The only one who came back was a Samaritan, a group despised by Jews.

This reminds me of an incident when I was working in TASSC, a non-profit organization of survivors of torture.  One day a young man came in to the office asking for help.  According to him he was seeking asylum and needed a lawyer and other services.  He looked physically and mentally beaten up; his left elbow was twisted.  When I asked him what happened, he said that a military person had beaten his arm with a metal bar and dislocated his elbow.  We referred him to a legal office for help with his asylum petition, and to various medical and health services.  Eventually he successfully convinced the immigration judge that he deserved to be granted asylum in the U.S. 

He never came back to the office again after that.  I felt hurt because of his failure to thank me and the other staff, not even bothering to call us.  For myself I just tried to forget the incident and not blame him for his failing.