Sermons on Reign of God (Page 2)
Justice, justice
Jonah 3:4–10 Luke 10:25–37 In our Thursday Bible Study group we have started a study of Paul’s letter to the Romans which is an important yet difficult book. It inspired Luther to rebel against the Catholic church, and has spawned hundreds if not thousands of commentaries. It starts with a sweeping condemnation of all Gentiles rapidly followed by a sweeping condemnation of all Jews. The wrath of God is visited upon everyone. Only after we are thoroughly crushed does Paul…
No Separation
Welcome to the Season of Creation! It’s good to be here with you all again after two weeks of being away enjoying the wonders of God’s Creation. I was grateful to be north of the fires and so suffered very little from the smoke. We stayed in a little house with a veranda that looked into the forest and every morning and evening the bird feeder was visited by a tribe of steller’s jays. One of the interesting things about…
I will, with God’s Help
Isaiah 56:1,6-8 Psalm 67 Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32 Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28 I think there’s a little bit of Jewish privilege showing up in today’s gospel and in the second reading. Paul proudly shares his Jewish credentials, and Jesus says “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Privilege is an interesting thing because most of us have ways in which we are privileged in our society and ways in which we are disadvantaged or even…
Hunger and Hospitality
Isaiah 55:1-5 Psalm 145: 8-9, 15-22 Romans 9:1-5 Matthew 14:13-21 One of the many things I miss during this time in exile is potlucks! Potlucks do have some downsides – like not knowing what you are eating, eating too much and filling up with carbs. All that delicious pasta, rice and beans are not so good for those of us who are diabetic or nearly so. But I love having other people cook for me; I love knowing you all…
More than Coffee and Cookies
Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 10:40-42 The Sunday before last, we heard that Jesus sent his disciples out on a mission journey with the instructions “proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.” Then last week we heard the continuation of his charge to the disciples where he told them that his teaching was controversial and would lead to divisions…
Love Strongly
Genesis 21:8-21 Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17 Romans 6:1b-11 Matthew 10:24-39 Usually we omit the Old Testament reading on the third Sunday of the month but today it seems particularly important, so I decided this morning that we should include it. Like today’s gospel, it is a difficult reading. It is a difficult reading because it tells us about racial separation. It tells us that deep in the very early history of the Judaeo-Christian people, just as in this country and in…
God’s Own People
1 Peter 2:2-10 John 14:1-14 Hallo my friends. How does it feel to be a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people” as we heard in the second lesson? I imagine the “chosen race” part of that probably makes you as uncomfortable as it does me, but the writer was probably talking about our new identity as the children of God not the color of our skin or our ethnic background. As the beloved children of…
God is Right Here
Photo of Skogafoss Falls by Sorasak on Unsplash Genesis 1: 1-25 John 1:1-14 Today we are celebrating Earth Sunday and what beautiful weather we have for it. Our readings this morning reflect God’s total involvement with creation. Do you remember that Bette Midler song “From a Distance”? The lyrics go like this: From a distance, the world looks blue and green And the snow-capped mountains white From a distance, the ocean meets the stream And the eagle takes to flight…
Maundy Thursday – Love one Another
Photo by Jan Romero on unsplash John 13:1-17, 31b-35 It’s a puzzling thing. Jesus lived in a time that could not have begun to conceive of what we are doing tonight – gathering for virtual worship – and he could not have conceived of a world where people stayed in their own homes. Without that physical connection, how are we to follow his direction, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved…
Social distances
Photo by Stephen Hume @ unsplash.com John 4:5-42 I’m sorry I’m not worshiping with you in person this morning though I am participating through livestream. I am not there because I have a very minor chest cold which in normal circumstances I would completely disregard. But these are not normal circumstances. So I am practicing “social distancing” by staying home and I am very grateful to the Rev Susan for stepping in for me. Yesterday the first instance of the…