Sermons on Spiritual Life (Page 16)
Disciple, Apostle, Prophet
What is your calling? Are you called to be a prophet like Isaiah, a disciple like Simon, James and John, or an apostle like Paul? I think we are called ot be all three – to learn form Jesus, to share God’s grace with others and to be active in working for social and racial justice.
Transcendence
It seems that our ancestors experienced moments of transcendence – of heaven breaking through – when the scriptures were read. What makes transcendence more likely? How can we prepare ourselves for God to reveal Godself in our lives?
God is well-pleased
Our ministry is to bring the qualities of the Spirit into every interaction, every relationship. God is well-pleased with us and that is why we choose to make this our life’s path.
Disruption and Peace
We are constantly having experiences of exile and loss; we are also constantly being led out of exile and loss into the promised land where we can live every moment aware of the presence of God. The trick is to live with both; to find the peace of God’s unconditional love in the disruption of our lives, because it is the Christ who brings peace and the Christ who brings disruption.
The New Relationship
Luke 2:1-20 I wonder what the shepherds thought they would find when they went into Bethlehem? The angel said that a baby will be a sign but the shepherds didn’t say to each other, “Let’s go and see the baby” – they said “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” I wonder what they were expecting? I also wonder how they found the right place…
The Angels are Singing for you
I have two radio stations programmed in my car radio – KCBX for Public Radio and KUSC for classical music. This morning I was driving into San Luis Obispo, listening to Morning Edition on NPR. The segment was about our relationship with Russia. Suddenly I couldn’t listen any longer and hit the button for KUSC, which took me into the middle of the Angel’s Carol by John Rutter. What a contrast; from human conflict to angels singing peace on earth. …
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Micah 5:2-5a Luke 1:39-55 When I was on sabbatical and visiting family I dipped briefly into the family tree. I was surprised to discover that my grandparents who lived in North London all their lives were married in Wales. And that two months later, my father was born. It seems that there were some relatives in Wales and when my grandmother found that she was pregnant, she probably went, as Mary did, into the hill country away from the…
What we keep, keeps us
Philippians 4:4-7 Luke 3:7-18 Jaki Shelton Green is the first African American and the third woman to be appointed as North Carolina’s Poet Laureate. When Jaki offers writing workshops in prisons and jails one of her writing exercises starts with this statement, “What we keep, keeps us.” What we keep, keeps us. In the gospel reading today, John the Baptizer delivers a fiery and somewhat scary message to those who crowd into the desert to hear him. We tend to hear…
The Glory of God
Walking around shining like the sun. That is what it means to prepare God’s way – it means to be who we really are. The glory of God is revealed as we step onto the highway that God is preparing for God’s children.
Jesus is Coming
Today is the first Sunday in the church’s year. Advent Sunday. The first of four Sundays as we prepare to celebrate and remember Christ’s incarnation. And alongside our preparation for the coming of Christ as a human baby, as kind of a subplot, is our longing for the return of Christ in all his glory to sort out the mess that we humans create.