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Attention. Joseph was paying attention. The message from God was unusual. That is why an angel brought the message. The medium of the message and message were perfectly coordinated. After the angel said, “don’t be afraid,” the angel then said, “Mary is pregnant because God has chosen her to be the mother of Jesus. She…
This is a story about Jesus and John the Baptist. John the Baptist is near the end of his life. He wants to know if his life work is being fulfilled. He sent those who lived with him to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come?” Jesus responds by saying to them,…
Note to the Reader: The following sermon includes a story with dialogue. It would be helpful to highlight the dialogue in different colors to help present the effects of the different personalities. The streets of one suburban town in northern New Jersey ooze with history. There is a stately gothic Episcopal Church on one corner…
Imagine that it is the predawn of human history. You are a human inhabitant of the Northern Hemisphere of the planet Earth. You know nothing of written words and your language is plain and simple. And all around you the world is full of terrible dangers. Your life is threatened everywhere you turn. But there…
The story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is troubling in two ways. First, its closeness to Jesus’ crucifixion is disturbing. One day, Jesus is being proclaimed King. Five days later, the crowd is yelling, “Crucify him!” In this country, we are used to rapid changes in public opinion. But this is troubling in the…
This Sunday is known as the Feast of Christ the King, and certainly all of the lessons have images of kingship and rule, though not necessarily in expected forms. This Sunday stands at the end of the long season after Pentecost as a summing up of what we’ve learned about Jesus Christ, and as an…
The Gospel appointed to be read this Lord’s day is harsh, strikingly harsh. One of the theories as to why it is harsh is related to the probable date of Luke’s Gospel. Luke’s Gospel was assembled probably around 75 AD. This is roughly 40 years or so after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. If…
Jesus was always confronted with those who wanted to trip him up. The folk with the trick questions were trying to get him to identify himself with the Saddusees. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. The Pharisees did. If he agreed with the logic of the Sadducees, then the Pharisees could condemn him….
At this point in time, in that strange mix of pop psychology and the learning theory of our age, we have a phrase to describe Jesus’ thought patterns as seen in today’s Gospel lesson. That phrase is “counter intuitive.” Jesus’ thinking is running contrary to normal thinking. Jesus’ wisdom is not the common folk wisdom….
Note: Due to a technical glitch, the last few paragraphs of this sermon are missing. We apologize for any confusion. – Sermons That Work “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” Each day the queen would stand before her magical reflecting glass and pose this question. And each day without fail…
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