Sermons

With Fear and Great Joy. A question I always ask candidates for ministry is, “If someone came into your church on Easter Sunday who had never been there before, how would you explain the Gospel?” This is my most recent proclamation of that great Easter joy that takes away our fear.

Riches I Heed Not. Jesus consistently challenges our relationship to wealth. From his mother Mary’s song proclaiming him to, “Send the rich away empty” to the rich young ruler who went away sad–Jesus deeply challenges our relationship to wealth based on our relationship to God. The following is one of my more challenging sermons. It is my attempt to deeply wrestle with the radical teachings of Jesus. Some have found this to be too much, and so I share it with you here. Yet, others have found it deeply convicting, hopeful, and moving. May we be a church who continues to wrestle with the full implications of Christ’s teachings for all of our lives.

Living as Exiles. The early church understood that we occupy a third way. In the Epistle of Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus, he writes, “They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners [or resident aliens]. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers.” Our citizenship is in heaven as Paul proclaims. In the waters of baptism, we no longer belong to the powers and principalities of this earth, but rather in life and in death be belong to our savior Jesus Christ. In an age rife with Christian Nationalism, we must reclaim the good news that we are sojourners and exiles in every land.

Not the Messiah You Were Looking For. Palm Sunday is a temptation. That is, it is the day the devil had been waiting for since tempting Christ in the wilderness. The season of Lent begins every year with that text, and every year it ends with this text. Hear the lesson of the church, this is the more opportune time. It is one thing to reject temptations when we are weak in the desert. It is quite another to reject temptation when the surge of a crowd propels us forward.

The palms we wave each year are destined to be burned and worn as symbols of repentance. Every year we wave with fervor greeting the Jesus we want, but then by Good Friday are the ones crying, “Crucify! Crucify!” For the Jesus who rejected power once again is not the Jesus they wanted. They wanted Jesus to destroy the Romans, not forgive them. They wanted Jesus to restore the glory of their nation, not suffer a humiliating death. In truth, these are things that we want. We must cast down our palms. We must cast down the virtues of our society, and instead follow in the way of Christ and learn anew what it means to love God and love our neighbor.

Big Tent Worship. One of my greatest joys was getting us outside of our building, breaking our norms, and gathering under a tent on a glorious summer day with folks from our neighboring churches. We live in an age where we can no longer do this alone and need to think outside the walls and go out into the world. This was a joyous day where we saw just a hint of what may yet be.