August 11, 2024
“Be gracious, as God graced you in Jesus Christ” Paul, to the Ephesians.
What does grace look like in our lives? (Standing out in the rain listening to Taylor Swift concerts from the city park?) How do we extend grace to others? (Including neighborhood bullies?)
A reflection on how God gives us our daily bread, the grace that forgives and opens our hearts to forgive others.
July 7, 2024
The Presidential debates of this past June were met by many with frustration and anxiety; they felt like one more sign of the dysfunction and malaise hanging over our political world.
Pastor Rob reflects on Mark 6 when Jesus sends out his disciples. The world they lived in was a world of brutal political and social realities. Yet Jesus still sent them out.
It turns out, that Jesus has sending his disciples out over the past 2,000 years, even though the world has been — at all times — complex, fragmented, broken and sinful. This includes countless Christian women — who couldn’t vote in the 19th century — making quilts to guide slaves along the underground railroad. The political dysfunction of society does not limit the capacity of disciples to be faithful to God.
Pastor Rob exhorts us to focus less on the political reality we live in and give more heed to what we can do for our neighbor.
The sermon concludes with a reflection on what this might look like for us to live as a people of hope in this time and place.
The artwork is from the Smithsonian Museum website.
June 30, 2024
Sickness is like an iceberg in that we often only see the tip of the situation. The Gospel writer Mark takes us on a deep dive into the emotional undercurrents of illness, exploring what is going on in the hearts of the families of two women who are healed by Jesus (Mark 5:21-43). These stories speak to the reality of our emotions, but they also speak to the compassion and faithfulness of Jesus as he moves towards suffering to bring salvation.
The way that Mark tells this story, he not only draws us closer to these two women and their families, but he draws us into the story, inviting us to recall the times in our lives when we’ve encountered chronic and acute illness. This reveals to us how Jesus is also at work during those times in our life — offering compassion, summoning faith and finally carrying us.
The emotional iceberg comes from a website selling products that can be used for working with people in tough times
Sunday, June 23
"Do you not care that we are perishing?" The disciples cry out to Jesus, who is asleep during the storm.
Inevitably, we will go through storms. We will encounter hard times and observe terrible situations in the world. We will wonder where God is in the midst of all of this. Is Jesus sleeping? During these times, we or those whom we love will cry out to God: "Do you not care that we are perishing?"
A reflection on possible answers to one of life's most haunting questions.
The image comes from a blog by Eugene Luning (couldn't find art credit)
June 16, 2024
Did you know that a butterfly flapping its wings can change the path, intensity and even existence of a massive storm, like a tornado or hurricane!?
“The Butterfly Effect” is the term to describe how in a complex and interconnected system, the smallest change of one variable can lead to a big change in the outcome.
As Christians, we’ve confessed a belief in the “Butterfly Effect” before mathematical models were developed around it. We have long worshipped a God who causes — in this interconnected world — butterfly wings to flap and change the world. Pastor Rob develops this theme by looking at the parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4).
This is a message we need to hear, especially in our world of “big and terrible” news in which we lose all sense of our and even God’s capacity to make a difference.
Things go wrong for Jesus after his “graduation” – he leaves town, makes friends with the wrong people, gets in trouble with the law and finds religion. When he gets home, its a bit too much for his family who confront him about this. At this point, things get even worse, with him renouncing them (Mark 3:20-35)
The end?
Because our God is a God of forgiveness and reconciliation, the story goes on and does work its way toward new life. Ultimately Mary, his mother, will come back — as Jesus is dying on the cross. And his brother and he will be united — after the resurrection.
This is certainly good news for us, because time and time again in our families, we run into situations in which frustration and unaligned expectations cause deep hurt in our families. We often pray for years for healing.
A reflection on how the Holy Spirit brings forgiveness into our families.
Holy Trinity 2024 (Also Confirmation!)
Decisions, decisions, decisions!!
Life is full of decisions; for young people, each decision comes with so many options. Their life feels very much like a “Choose you own adventure” story: What to study, whom to befriend, whom to love, where to live, what teams to try out for…
This all sounds exciting, except that with many choices comes the potential to make wrong decisions. This can lead to lots of anxiety — did I make the right decisions?
A reflection on a man with a decision to make – Nicodemus (John 3). Turns out he doesn’t make the right decision, but God has decided that he isn’t done with Nicodemus!
(Note: The sermon today is especially targeted toward the 14 year-olds being confirmed, but it likely resonates with all of us who face decisions in life and worry about the past decisions we’ve made.)
