Advent 3: Joy!

Advent 3: Joy

The meeting of Elizabeth and Mary exudes joy (Luke 1:39-55).  Mary even proclaims the beautiful words:  “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

There is joy we often experience at Christmas time: joy in our stories, our singing, our gift giving and even our eating!  All sorts of traditions and interactions that reveal mercy and joy across the generations, just as Mary and Elizabeth meet across the generations to prepare for Jesus’ birth.  A reflection based on their encounter of how we open ourselves to the joy God intends this Christmas.

The sermon concludes with a deeper dive too into the reality that family relations are often complex and are in need of mercy.

The photo (which I’ve used before is from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel‘s website.)

Advent 2: How do you measure time?

 

Advent 2 (December 4, 2022)

How do you measure time?  In Luke chapter 1 time is measured by trimesters of pregnancy.  The ancient world measured time in different ways than we do today.  We measure time typically in minutes, but the ancient world tended to measure time in terms of seasons or even moments.

For today’s sermon, we reflect on the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary.  The words of the angel acknowledge that that our hopes and prayers are not fulfilled in the time we would like.  In many ways, Advent is the season of the church year in which we openly acknowledge that the world needs God to come in way that God has not yet come!  It is a season of waiting, waiting for God’s timing.  But Pastor Rob also claims that rather than simply waiting, this is a season of expecting!

The artwork is “Persistence of Memory” by Salvador Dali, found on Wikipedia

Advent 1: Do Not Be Afraid

 

Advent 1, 2022 (Nov 27)

“Do not be afraid” declares the angel to Zechariah.  Turns out that 2,000 years later, we need these words too.  We live in a world saturated with fear that affects just about every aspect of life.

How do we know when our fear has moved from biological necessity to a spiritual obstacle?  And when we realize our fear is too great, what do we do?

The angel realizes that Zechariah’s fears are too much and so the angels gives him the “medicine” of silence and listening.  Likewise, Pastor Rob commends us to a season of listening this Advent.

The image is from “When God speaks, doubt nothing” by Christine Darg.

The Love of Power or the Power of Love

 

Christ the King Sunday (Nov 20, 2022)

Associating “King” and “Jesus” is often uncomfortable for many people, for Jesus seems to embody the opposite of what we think about in a king.

A reflection on Luke 23 and how the kings of this world demonstrate “The Love of Power” whereas the Jesus, the true King, embodies and gives us “The Power of Love.”

The artwork is from Wikipedia, an article on Huey Lewis and his song “The Power of Love”

O Sing to the Lord a New Song

 

November 13, 2022

“O Sing to the Lord a New Song!”  (Psalm 98)

Sometimes in life we found ourselves filled with joy and we cannot help but sing a new song.

At other times, however, our grief traps us and prevents us from singing a new song.  What to do then? 

Pastor Rob reflects on the “6th stage” of grief, singing a new song.  While this can be hard, our God is a God of resurrection and enables us to bring the past into the future, to sing a new song, even in seasons of grief.

Is Heaven Real?

 

All Saints Sunday, 2022

One of the many beautiful visions of heaven in the Bible appears in the book of Revelation (Revelation 7:9-17). This vision of heaven is completely counter-cultural to the cultures of its day as well as the cultures of today. It would not have occurred to anyone then or anyone now that this is actually what heaven looks like; it becomes clear that this image of heaven is of divine and not human origin.

A reflection on how unique and compelling the vision of heaven is that is presented in Scripture. 

The image was found on this blog; however, I could not find information about who the artist is.

An Isolated Fortress

 

Zacchaeus is a lonely man.  He is a lonely fortress, locked down and locked out of relationship.

Jesus will restore him to relationship with his community by freeing Zacchaeus, enabling vulnerability and forgiveness.

This is what Jesus does.  

The mighty fortress, who is our God, becomes the vulnerable and lonely one on the cross, so that we can have relationship with God and each other.

Note:  I realize that this sermon did not directly address some of the common reformation themes or life of Martin Luther, but I would like to offer it as a Reformation sermon.  For it proclaims the Word as Law and Gospel, expounding the power of grace poured out from the cross and faith lived out in real life.

(The image comes from:  https://sanctuarybaptist.org/2016/10/30/true-stories-at-the-zacchaeus-tree/   I did not see any credit for the artist or any copyright image there)