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…
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.
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?
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.
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!
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.
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.
