Christmas Eve: Making Room

 

Christmas Eve 2021

I love me a crowded nativity!  A reflection about Christmas and making room; for in Jesus Christ, God making room for us!

Names of Jesus: The Way

 

Advent 4, 2021

December 19, 2021

Truth and Peace often don’t seem to coincide.  We seem to have to sacrifice one for the other.  A reflection on “life after the hallmark movie,” when we face moral ambiguities.  What is the name for Jesus in this case, as we seek a way forward that honors the truth, but cultivates peace?

Names of Jesus: Son of Mary

 

Advent 3

December 12, 2021

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” so they say.  In this sermon, Pastor Rob reflects on how Mary (and Joseph) might have influenced and shaped Jesus.  Ultimately, Mary does not save us — Jesus does.  But there is much we can learn from Mary’s story.

Names of Jesus: Immanuel

 

Advent 2 (2021)

December 5, 2021

Luke’s Gospel, including the stories leading up to Jesus’ birth, are filled with miracles.  Rather than invite us into Scripture, this often puts up a boundary for us modern readers as we are trained to have faith in reason and be skeptical of miracles.  A reflection on miracles, reason and a not-so-distant God.

The art comes form “Global Christian Worship” website.  This piece is by Mike Meyers.  (Comment by Pastor Rob:  I am impressed thoroughly by the modern art of the Annunciation)

Names of Jesus: Prince of Peace

 

Advent 1 2021

November 28, 2021

Names, names and more names!  This Advent (the weeks leading up to Christmas), we will focus on the names of Jesus.  Pastor Rob unpacks why names are so important in the Bible (and in life!).  The focus this week is on the name “Prince of Peace.”  Jesus is the peace that our world and hearts need so desperately.

What is truth?

 Christ the King Sunday

November 21, 2021

“What is truth”?  This is the cynical question asked by Pilate as he sentences Jesus to crucifixion.  Pastor Rob reflects on Pilate’s cynicism and acknowledges the continuing reality of a broken world in which truth is determined by the powerful.  Then, Pastor Rob offers an alternative witness to truth and power, that of Jesus Christ crucified and risen.  This is our hope:  the foundation of the universe is not retribution, but reconciliation through Jesus!

Ecce Homo by Antonio Ciseri

The Great Resignation

 

November 14, 2021

We are in the midst of the “Great Resignation” as people quit their jobs in record numbers.  The pandemic has rocked the foundation of people’s lives and many are changing various facets of their lives, including their work.  Reflecting on Jesus’ words (regarding the Temple’s destruction, Mark 13:1-8), Pastor Rob reflects that Christians have been through many times of challenge and change, periods of “great resignation.”  Jesus invites us as we move forward not into a “great resignation”, however, but a “great recalibration” or truly a”great rebuilding” with Christ as the foundation.

The image comes from https://uvaro.com/blog/the-great-resignation

Family Recipes and Eternal Glory

 All Saints Sunday, 2021

In many families recipes are passed on from generation to generation.  These recipes are so meaningful, especially after someone dies.

Yet these recipes can also cause some sadness as we realize that those who have gone before us in faith — those who have died — cannot be brought back to life through our recipes and traditions.  Pastor Rob reflects on Revelation 21 and the hope we have as Christians…a hope that might just include family recipes.

(This particular recipe photo is from a website about a particular individual's grandmother (here).  I can’t vouch for the recipe, although I am tempted to try it)

You are free to fail!

 

Reformation Sunday (Oct 31), 2021

Today is not only Reformation Sunday, but also the Sunday in which we confirm youth in our church. 

The youth in our society are the most evaluated, analyzed and assessed youth in the history of our country, if not human civilization.  Living under this microscope, many youth are developing a deep fear of failure.  Pastor Rob offers the (Reformation) Gospel to such youth and to all of us:  You are free to fail!  A sermon on youth culture today, the fear of failure and ultimately the promises of God’s love.

The image comes from: https://alittlecounseling.com/blog/2019-02-24-fear-of-failure/

Simple questions, challenging answers

 

October 24, 2021

Jesus asks a simple question to the blind beggar, Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52):  What do you want?

It turns out, this is a very simple question that is a challenge to answer.  In this spirit, Pastor Rob asks three other questions of us:

• What makes you cry out for mercy?
• Whom are you called to stop for?
• What is your cloak?

The sculpture is by artist Gurdon Brewster.  You can find his website here

A church on a political fault line

 October 17, 2021

We all know of the fault lines in California.  But here in Lititz, we exist on a political fault line, a community that has lots “red” and “blue” people and every shade in between.

What does it mean for us to be the church on fault lines?  Pastor Rob offers his vision of what it means for us to be church in this time and place: not necessarily purple, but committed to being peace makers, people who strive to make life together possible.  A reflection on Jesus’ words in Mark 10:32-45 and the really, really dumb question of James and John.

Moving from independent to interdependent

 

October 10, 2021

In life we move from dependent (on our parents, etc) to independent.  Yet the deeper move is from independent to interdependent, in which we realize that we and others bring gifts and have needs.  Pastor Rob describes how unfortunately money can get in the way of realizing our deep interconnectedness as people.

A reflection on the rick young man from Mark 10, what it means to grow up…and a God in Jesus who loves us even when we don’t want to grow up!

Image is from:  Daily Theology’s Post on “The Rich Young Man and Privilege.”

What hells we make

 

September 26, 2021

Jesus speaks of a dark place of suffering:  Gehenna.  This word is sometimes translated as hell, but it means something less (and something more) than this.  Pastor Rob reflects on the “gehennas” or hells we make in this world.  Jesus gives a word of warning to us about not entering hell, but also a reminder that the alternative, entering into life, doesn’t rest on our shoulders.

The image comes from:  https://redeeminggod.com/gehenna-hell/

Breaking News: One more crisis you can’t do anything about

 

September 19, 2021

Breaking News–There is always breaking news!

What do we as Christians do with the constant news feed of world problems?  As Christians we feel a call to serve; this week (Mark 9:30-37) Jesus explicitly here a call “to be a servant to all.”

Pastor Rob reflects on how Jesus does the impossible work: saving the world, saving your neighbor and saving you; we instead of saving people are free to serve others.  But what do we do about the “all” part of serving?

This image comes from an article on “Avoiding being overwhelmed by the news“

Carrying the cross

 September 12, 2021

The images and recollection of Sept 11 brought to our mind many images of sacrifice, courage and even the cross.  Pastor Rob reflects on courage, sacrifice and the call of Jesus to pick up our cross (Mark 8:27-38).  What might this look like in our lives today?

A God with Dirty Hands

 

September 5, 2021

Jesus puts his spit in the man’s eyes!  (Mark 8:22-26)

What kind of God is this, one who gets down and dirty to heal?  Precisely the God we need and the God we meet in Jesus.  A reflection on dirty hands, vulnerability and healing.

Photo is from:   http://www.danielhechtblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Mud-hands-fixed.jpg

How much does Anger Inc. profit from you?

 

August 29, 2021

It is easy to be angry with what happens in the world.  But it is also easy to get sucked in, because there are people who profit from our anger: Anger, Inc.  How then should a Christian respond to the brokenness and sin in our world?  Pastor Rob looks at the letter of James, who presents us with another alternative to what Anger, Inc. is selling; namely, the way of Jesus Christ.

The image is from a Capital One page on anger.

In the wilderness

 

August 1, 2021

Life is moving along.  Crazy event happens.  Everything changes.  Eventually a new norm is reached.  But what about that in between time?  After the disruption but before the “new normal”?  You know, the kind of time we are living in now?!

The Bible describes this kind of time as a time in the wilderness.  As we consider times of wilderness in the Bible, there is much we can learn about how God is at work in our lives in times of wilderness.

The picture is called Manna in the Wildernesss by Sieger Köder.  For more on manna, check out the sermon.  For more on the artist, you can click here.

What if we are not enough

 

July 25, 2021

Before Jesus feeds the 5,000 (John 6:1-14), his disciples tell him that there is not enough. It is a rather silly scene, telling Jesus there is not enough. However, in our life as well, we often are forced to confess to Jesus: I am not enough.

What if this is how it is supposed to be though — that we are not enough? Pastor Rob unpacks the lie of self-sufficiency. Instead of seeking our own sufficiency, we rejoice that Christ is enough.

And instead of trying to be enough, we bring to the table what we have — our loaves and our fish. Christ does the multiplication work to produce an abundant harvest.

The picture is of loaves and fish made by the Senior Shepherds group at St. Paul.

Also, the second half of the sermon has slightly different sound.  This had to due with a failure of batteries…they, alas, lacked enough juice.

Saint and Sinner

 

July 18, 2021

The disciples report back to Jesus all the good that have done (Mark 6:30).  This is a bit strange — what if coming to church was about declaring all the good we have done?

This doesn’t feel quite right, not simply because of modesty, but because we each acknowledge that we are like sheep without a shepherd, in need of Christ’s compassion (Mark 6:34)

A reflection on how we are both saints and sinners, capable of good works but also in need of God’s unfailing grace.

A tale of two feasts

 

July 11, 2021

Note:  The sermon includes two separate readings from Mark’s Gospel, typically excluded from the sermon audio files.  But they are necessary to make sense of the message.

The intended Gospel reading for today is gruesome:  The beheading of John during King Herod’s birthday feast.  Pastor Rob contrasts this with the feeding of the 5,000.  In the end, both stories are needed to reveal Mark’s point:  the true power in this world is not with kings; the true power is God’s love that overcomes the human heart.

The picture is from: https://www.thebostonpilot.com/opinion/article.asp?ID=183135, ultimately from Wikipedia Commons.  I would love to know who painted this.

No Magic Fairies

 

July 4, 2021

Unfortunately, God does not work through magic fairies.  If this were the case, we would be absolved of moral responsibility.  Instead, God has called us into relationships of mutual cooperation and interdependence.   Reflecting on Jesus visit to his hometown and sending of the disciples in Mark 6, Pastor Rob reflects on the various interdependent relationships:  Us and God; Us and each other; Us and the stranger.

Pastor Rob closes with a reflection on how we might be blessed as a nation to consider July 4 Interdependence Day, not Independence Day.

Cats and Monkeys

 

June 27, 2021

Pastor Rob has some fun with the terms “Monkey” and “Cat” Lutherans, talking about whether we are saved by grace or through faith!

The stories we hear from Mark’s Gospel suggest that there is great power to save in faith; yet God’s grace in Jesus Christ is relentless.  Turns out that faith and grace might just work together after all.

Ministry of Reconcilation

June 20, 2021

We live a cancel culture world, not just of politics, but of all relationships in which it is easy and even righteous to walk away from people.

In his second letter to the Corinthians St Paul offers us a different way to handle the brokenness of human relationships:  The ministry of reconciliation.  God’s reconciliation of all people in Christ means we are always connected to each other:  God did not cancel us and in the long run, we cannot cancel each other.

This ultimate reconciliation is grounded in Jesus’ death on the cross and culminates in the new creation of Heaven and Earth.  While we wait for Christ’s return, the Spirit opens our hearts to God’s redeeming work of reconciliation in our lives.

Also this sermon includes a coda pondering what a ministry of reconciliation might look like in regards to racial injustice and healing in the United States.

The picture comes from https://www.woodstreamchurch.org/sermon/reconciliation/

A Curated Life?

 

June 13, 2021

St. Paul offers us challenging and difficult words — all must stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

Pastor Rob reflects on our “judgy” culture permeates everything we do.  Unfortunately, the proposed solution — the curated life, in which we carefully craft an online persona and feed, is not a tenable solution.  Instead, Pastor Rob describes the sacramental life, in which Christ is in, with and under all things, even the brokenness and sin of life, to make something beautiful.

Interrupting Forgiveness

 

June 6, 2021

“If one blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, one has no forgiveness in this age but is guilty of an eternal sin.”  Even translated in this way, this verse still packs such a bite.

What is the connection between the Holy Spirit and forgiveness?  Pastor Rob offers that it is all about a God, who through the Holy Spirit, interrupts our lives with grace that makes a way for forgiveness.

6 Months to Live

 

Holy Trinity

May 30, 2021

With six months to live, what did a dying man share with Pastor Rob?  Through all the stories the man told it became clear that deep relationship and servant roles meant something.  This seems a life well lived:  a life loving and helping others.

To get at what this means in terms of sin and grace, Pastor Rob reflects on the story of Nicodemus, the rich and powerful man who meets Jesus by night.    Turns out that God’s grace works in our lives to restore relationships and open hands for serving others.  But this is not always easy; sin is powerful and gets in the way.  But in the waters of Baptism, we are assured of the victory of Christ for us.

The photo comes from here, although I am not confident this is the original location of the art work.  If someone knows the name of the artist, let us know!

Us for them, not us against them

This Pentecost Sunday, as the church celebrates its birthday, Pastor Rob reflects on two realities

 

1) The church – the community of faith – remains a vehicle of God’s grace, word and truth in this world (the picture is from the national cathedral’s display of doves)

 

2) The majority of people do not care about what happens at church

 

How do we not succumb to the temptation to live as us vs them? The Holy Spirit transformed the early Christian church (and is still transforming us today) into a community that was (is) “us for them”, as they shared (we share) in word and in deed the audacious hope: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

5 Love Languages of the Early Church

 

Easter 6

May 9, 2021

We hear Jesus tell his disciples, ‘Love one another, as I loved you.’  (John 15).  This mother’s day, Pastor Rob reflects on what it looks like for us to love each other as Christ loved us.  Specifically, Pastor Rob offers “the Five Love Languages of the early church.”  Ultimately, it all goes back to Jesus love (and the recognition that we are not Jesus!)

 

The gardener who prunes

 

Easter 5

May 2, 2021

Jesus declares that God is the gardener; he is the vine; we are the branches.  This is great and beautiful metaphorical way of thinking about us and God.

However, God is the kind of gardener who prunes!  Pastor Rob reflects on how this past year has been a year of pruning, both as individuals and as a church.

This is not a bad thing though, as God works in our lives to remove all in us that does not bear fruit and that separates us from God.

Ultimately this reality of pruning leads to some reflection on who we are — truly, whose we are.

Sheep who aren't sheepish

 

Easter 4

April 25, 2020

Jesus calls himself the good shepherd and his followers sheep.  Who wants to be a sheep, especially in an age where the world’s challenges demand innovation, tenacity and leadership?

Pastor Rob reflects on Peter and John before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4), observing that these sheep of Jesus are anything but sheepish!

Peter and John model a different way of being disciples:  Not trying to figure it all out, but instead, trusting Jesus as they follow him in footsteps of hope and courage.

Pastor Rob argues that surprisingly in our world today of big problems, that so often produces anger and apathy, that this might be the kind of discipleship we need, one in which we are freed from having to figure it all out and freed for following the Good Shepherd in footsteps of hope and courage.

A New Story

Easter 3

April 18, 2021

The disciples on the road to Emmaus (Like 24:13-35) are blind to Jesus’ presence and the evidence of resurrection.  How can this be?

Pastor Rob explores the power of story — how the stories we tell ourselves about the world, about others and about ourselves becoming self-fulfilling prophecies that enable (often to our own detriment) us to ignore evidence to the contrary.

In the Gospel passage, the story seems, at first, to be that violence and death win.  And so the disciples cannot see the evidence of resurrection.  This also seems to be the story in our world right now.  This story of the power of death and violence blinds us to God’s love in our lives.

But as it turns out, there is more to the story…and that is where the serendipity, grace and the Gospel enter in!

Easter 2021: Resurrection Lenses

 

Easter Sunday

April 4, 20201

This Easter feels like a turning point in our lives and in our society:  The past chapter of pandemic is giving away to something new.  But the grief of the past makes it tough to turn the page.

Pastor Rob reflects on the first Easter, when the early disciples found themselves caught between grief and hope, between death and resurrection.   The women at the tomb needed to be given resurrection lenses, ones that allowed them both to see new life and admit their grief.  These lenses of resurrection and hope give them the courage them to leave the tomb, embracing the new creation.  May it do the same for us!

This beautiful art, called Resurrection, comes from this website (a joyous Easter discovery of this artwork!):

Three Resurrection paintings by Indian artist Jyoti Sahi

Societal Healing: Journey to Wholeness, Lent 2021

 

Lent 5

March 21, 2021

What is truth?

Information is cheap, spin is everywhere and truth is hard to find.  Like ancient Babel, we can’t seem to find a common language, a common set of facts with which to get along.  And the political-media machine keeps cashing in our anger and division.

Pastor Rob reflects on truth, specifically Jesus before Pilate (John 18:28-40).  In this world, truth is in the hands of those in power; power is the ability to wound others.  In God’s Kingdom, the truth is that we are wounded and wounding others, in need of a savior. God’s power is not the ability to wound, but to bring about healing out of wounds, including those of Jesus Christ.

A concluding reflection on the healing that has taken place along one of human history’s most bloody borders, that of Germany and France.

Environmental Healing: Journey to Wholeness, Lent 2021

 

4th Sunday in Lent

March 14, 2021

For many, Noah’s Ark seems almost like an ancient fairy tale: Good for children but not much for adults.  The story reveals a few truths for our time though, truths we still need to learn:  1)  God loves the whole world, including animals!  2)  Human sin can lead to environment destruction.  3)  God commanded then and still commands today Noah’s arks to be built – ways for us as humans to participate in the healing of creation.

A reflection on the healing of all things, including the environment, through Jesus Christ.

The picture is from Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, taken by Don Campbell.

Financial Healing: Journey to Wholeness, Lent 2021

Third Sunday in Lent

March 7, 2021

Text:  John 2:13-21 (Jesus Cleansing the Temple)

We’ve all seen the Lexus commercials.  Most of us would be happy to own such a nice car.  Yet truthfully, we all know that even a great car isn’t going to bring us real joy.

Pastor Rob reflects that there are two economies at work in our world.  The first is of the marketplace.  In this one, things and even people have a precise value.  While the economy of the marketplace can be a fine thing, it can become problematic when it works its way, not just into the ancient temples, but into our own inner sanctuaries.  When it functions, so to speak, ‘above its pay grade.’

There is another economy at work in this world; it is one of mercy and mutuality.  What does this look like?  And how does Jesus bring us into this economy?

Relational healing: Journey to Wholeness, Lent 2021

 Lent 2

February 28, 2021

“It’s complicated” is one way to describe romantic relationships.  But truthfully, it’s a way to describe just about every relationship that we experience.   There are many layers, including brokenness and grief.

Pastor Rob reflects on Genesis 3, relationship breakdowns (the blame-shame game!) and how God brings about relationship healing.

Emotional Healing: Journey to Wholeness, Lent 2021

Lent 1

February 21, 2021

Pastor Rob reflects on Christ in the Wilderness (Mark 1:9-15).  We are all in a wilderness right now, a time of brokenness; a time in which we hear the constant voice of the one who lies.

What is the work of Christ in times of wilderness to bring us healing?  A sermon of hands, truths and angels.

What to say to death

Ash Wednesday

February 17, 2021

Do we truly need an Ash Wednesday this year?  Haven’t we been stuck in lent?  Haven’t we confronted our mortality enough in this past year?

Pastor Rob offers a reflection on how to approach death, given how frequently it has come around these days…

Healing as Wholeness

February 7, 2021

Fifth Sunday of Epiphany

Healing isn’t the same thing as getting rid of a disease.   Healing is something more; it is about becoming whole again in mind, body and spirit.

Right now we are all looking to the vaccine as a place of healing.  While it will protect against the disease and lead to many other changes, it in itself, cannot bring the healing that we need in our lives.

Pastor Rob reflects on both Jesus’ healing of Peter’s mother-in-law Mark (1:31-41) and God’s transformation of the exiles in Isaiah (40:21-31) as ways to understand God’s work of healing and wholeness in our lives and in our world.

This sermon concludes with an invitation to join St. Paul this Lent, as we journey to the cross, with Jesus, that we may be healed and made whole through his life and love.

What do unclean spirits look like in today’s world?

January 31, 2021

4th Sunday of Epiphany

Mark 1:21-28 describes a series of events unlikely familiar to us:  A person possessed by and the exorcised of an unclean spirit!

Pastor Rob reflects on how we might understand “unclean spirits” and the work of evil in our world today.   One thing reflected on in the sermon is the Holocaust, certainly an example of “unclean spirits” dwelling in our world.

The sermon also reflects on how we can see Jesus at work, freeing people from unclean spirits.  Pastor Rob takes up the question, what might an exorcism today look like?

As we mend our nets…

January 24, 2021

3rd Sunday after Epiphany

2021 promises to be a year of rebuilding various aspects of our lives.   I (Pastor Rob) was drawn to the image of the disciples mending their nets, as we are ‘mending the nets’ — restoring to health and usefulness — so many aspects of our lives.

As we mend our nets — as we rebuild — we need to be mindful that today Christ calls his disciples to put down their nets and follow him.  He calls them to prioritize him over any other task.  It turns out that when we do good things — perhaps especially when we do good things — we can lose sight of our good purposes and we can lose sight of THE good thing, namely, Jesus Christ.  In these cases, we are called to put down our nets and focus again on Christ.

As we mend our nets — we are called to follow Christ and build on him, who has already brought the Kingdom.  Pastor Rob concludes with a story of what this might look like to focus on Christ in our lives!  This story focuses on the work of Dave Althouse, a member of our church and long-time basketball coach at the local high school.

Discerning God's Will

January 17, 2020

2nd Sunday after the Epiphany

We’ve all been there:  We try to relax by watching Netflix, only to be exhausted by the process of deciding what to watch!  These past months especially we all have a bit of decision fatigue.

As Christians we must, like everyone else, make decisions each day.  How can we make good decisions; truly know what God wants for us at any juncture in our lives?  The story of Samuel and Eli shows that discerning God’s voice and God’s will in our lives is not always easy.  But God makes it possible through reflection, the Word of God and the community of faith.

And even then we can get it wrong, but there is still mercy!

A story of God’s love and a tumultuous world

January 10, 2020

The Baptism of Jesus

This last week was extremely tumultuous for the nation.  It turns out that Jesus’ Baptism took place in a world that was also tumultuous.  God’s love story for the world doesn’t take place in a fairy tale kingdom, but in our world, complete with political factions, social unrest, economic disparities, demons dwelling and distortions of truth.

God’s love story includes not only God’s love for this world and us, but also God’s love lived out through us for others.  Pastor Rob reflects on the incredible challenge of loving the world and loving others; this week few of our hearts were filled with love.  What do we do in such a time as this, when there is tumult in our hearts?  Pastor Rob invites us back to the waters of Baptism.

Life is More Than Survival

January 3, 2020

The wisemen travel months, if not more than a year, to see Jesus.  What kept them inspired, motivated and focused?   Where did the get the fortitude and patience to survive such a journey through deserts, mountains and lots of strange and unknown cities?

This is a vital question as we all struggle in this current chapter of our lives to find strength to carry on after months of pandemic living.

Pastor Rob suggests two things enables them (and us!) to endure:  First, they had a clear focus on the most important thing; they knew that life was more than simply surviving, but seeking Christ and his kingdom.  Second, God’s grace is unrelenting and continually finds a way to break into our lives to strength us.