Sermons

Wendy (2)_opt.jpg

June 23, 2019

Texts:
     Isaiah 65: 1-9
     Galatians 3:23-29
     Luke 8:26-39

Good morning 8^th Day!

I have to admit that I actually chose this Sunday because the story for today’s lectionary seemed challenging to me and I welcomed the opportunity to wrestle with it.  There were moments, however, when I wondered what I had gotten into.

Jesus was a very busy person.  I mean, we think we’re busy!   In chapter 8 of Luke, in addition to healing the demoniac (as he is called in the story for today), Jesus tells a story of the sower of seeds in various circumstances, talks about not hiding your lamp under a bed, tells the disciples they are his family (rather than his biological mother and siblings), calms a storm, and heals a woman with a long standing hemorrhage on his way to Jarius’s house to bring his twelve-year-old daughter back to life.  I’m glad I don’t have to preach on the whole chapter.  Jesus did more in one chapter than I’ve even thought about doing in my whole life, and he had maybe about fifteen years at most to complete his ministry!

Betsy Edmonds.jpg

God Speaking with People, and People Speaking with God

I begin my sharing by telling you how I approach scripture.  I see it on several levels: First, is the obvious description.  I try to imagine myself in that place.  What was the roadway like, the vegetation, the weather- just the general context.  If I can, I find the cultural context.  What period of time is this?

Or, take the phrase in The Revelation: Heaven has “great streets paved with gold and transparent as glass.”

Is gold transparent? Look at gold—what are the qualities of gold?  To me, gold is a symbol of the nature of heaven.  Remember gold is an earthly element…shouldn’t heaven be much, much more glorious than any earthly element? We must remember that heaven is not confined to our literal, earthly reality.  We are given hints, “for now we see through a glass darkly”…as Paul says.

Then, digging deeper in Scripture, what is the message to me? To us?  And even deeper than that, are there underlying eternal principles which might be there?  If I only grasp the surface facts, I know I may end way off what the true message is.

Julian Forth.jpg

May 12, 2019

 Text: Acts 9:36-43 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas.  She was devoted to good works and acts of charity.  At that time she became ill and died.  When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs.  Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, 'Please come to us without delay.' So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs.  All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them.  Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed.  He turned to the body and said, 'Tabitha, get up.' Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.  He gave her his hand and helped her up.  Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive.  This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.  Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

-------

Last month, a friend of mine passed away.  His name was Bernard Williams, a regular at the Potter's House and a wandering philosopher.  Bernard and I met years ago, probably around 2012, at a cafe on 18th street.  He overheard me and a friend talking about philosophy and theology and he interjected, "You like Gilles Deleuze, too?  He's a great thinker… yada yada yada." And on he went.  Bernard was brilliant beyond comparison.  He could talk circles around anyone on topics such as art and film, contemporary philosophy, race theory, jazz, and much more.  Thereafter, I would run into Bernard around Adams-Morgan--at Potter's House, at Tryst, outside of McDonalds, near a bus stop--with books in hand and ready to talk about his latest interests and thoughts.  After a while, he would stop by The Festival Center from time to time and we'd chat for as long as time allowed.  Our conversations would meander from philosophy to personal reflection to politics and back again.  Bernard was not wealthy or famous.  He experienced homelessness, alienation from his family, and had suffered from paranoid schizophrenia since his early 20s.

tony_johnson_opt.jpg

April 28, 2019
Text: John 12: 3, 8

3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hsir. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 8 “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

As I reflect on these verses of John's Gospel, I see that Mary made a profound action of love and generosity. Not only did she use a pint of the most expensive perfume, she also poured it on the feet of Jesus and wiped them with her hair. In the midst of an important dinner when everyone was being served by Martha, Mary stepped away from the table and went over where Jesus was reclining and met his needs.