The Power of Naming

 

Jesus heals a man possessed by demons (Luke 8:26-39).

The healing begins with the naming of the demons.  Naming demons has the power to begin the freedom from them.  This is especially true when we name them ourselves.

Yet...

The disciples never learned the name of the man; they simply referred to him as the demon possessed man.  A reminder that we can demonize other people, ignoring their name and identifying them by their demons, their trauma, their sins and all the ways we don't like them.  This demonizing people is always the first step away from peace and reconciliation.  On the other side, learning someone's name is the first step toward peace.

In Baptism, we discover the power of Jesus both to give us the name that drives away the power of evil, but also the name that gives us back our humanity:  beloved child of God.

Suffering, Hope and Your Cross

Holy Trinity Sunday (June 15 2025)

"Suffering produces endurance; endurance produces character; character produces hope" (Paul to the Romans, 5:3)

In light of this passage, Pastor Rob asks two questions:

Where has God been in your life in the midst of suffering?

Where has God called you into the sufferings of others?

Given how crazy our world is, the second question turns out to be quite difficult.  For an answer, we need to turn further to the words of Jesus. 

My Peace I Leave You

Pentecost 2025

Jesus promises us peace (John 14:27)  In a world of anxiety and conflict, we yearn for this peace from Jesus.

What might this peace look like?  Maybe its like a walk home with friends.

Yet...a reflection on peace makes us realize the church's need again for Pentecost (Acts 2), to have the Spirit push us through the boundaries that block people from the peace of Jesus.

What might this Pentecost look like today?  Maybe its like an inflatable bounce house on a warm summer evening.

The image comes from the website "Why do Christians celebrate Pentecost", a Welsh church website.

A Truth to Build On

 

Ascension (June 1)

We are swimming in information today, but this hasn't made the truth easier to find.

Today's sermon is intended for all people, but especially the 8th graders being confirmed.  (They were making a public confession of faith, saying yes to the promises made to them in their baptisms).  Where can we -- above all young people -- find a truth to build our lives on?

This issue of truth is brought to the fore this particular Sunday, when we celebrate the Ascension (Acts 1:1-11), because Jesus sends out the disciples "to by my witnesses."  To be a witness means there is a truth we are called to point to in our lives.

Pastor Rob offers that in the ancient proclamation of faith -- Christ has died, Christ is Risen and Christ will come again -- we find a truth we can stand on and one we can witness to all the days of our lives.

Do you want to be made well?

Easter VI (May 25, 2025)

"Do you want to be made well?" Jesus asks the man who has been sick for 38 years!

The obvious answer should be "yes", but it isn't.  In our lives too, we often fall into cycles and situations in which we are not well, but we aren't quite capable of rising above the situation.

Into this situation comes Jesus, willing to offer compassion and challenge beyond anything we've experienced before.

The art is by Nathan Greene.  You can purchase it here.  I am sensitive to images of Jesus in which Jesus looks European instead of middle Eastern, but I loved the combination of compassion and power in this artist's rendition.

A New Commandment and a New Promise

 

"A New Commandment I give you:  Love one another.   As I have loved you, love one another."

How can Jesus command love, something seemingly impossible to command?  

And what might it mean to love others as Jesus has loved us?

To get at these questions, we look at the setting of Jesus giving this new commandment, namely, when he washes the disciple's feet.  As we ponder this act of service, we discover not only the depth of challenge in Jesus words to love as he loved, but also the word of grace and promise contained in them.

This is a screenshot of an artwork by Alida Bothma.  You can view the Etsy site to purchase the print.

What is your "full" name?

 

Easter IV (May 11 2025)

What is your “full name” — the thing that people say after your name that completes their description of you? 

For example, “That is Jane, she is a great teacher” or “That is Sam, he is an amazing basketball player”

Today we learn the full name of an early believer in the book of Acts (9:36-43):  Tabitha, aka Dorcas, “was always doing good and helping the poor…”  What a beautiful full name!

Pastor Rob offers a word of challenge today:  In your quest to make a good full name for yourself, have you focused on the right things?  It is very tempting to focus on the “resume” virtues instead of the “obituary” virtues!

There is also a profound word of grace today in today’s reading, a reminder that ultimately, God has the last word on our name and not our mistakes, failures or bad things that have happened to us.

Note:  I do not have permission (yet) to post this artwork by a Christian artist named Sarah Beth, but I found it so beautiful!  You can purchase the art here.