Under the Wings – March 13, 2022

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Under the Wings – March 13, 2022

Scripture: Luke 13: 31-35

What images of Jesus do you have in worship? What words do you use to describe the Christ? What today’s text tells us in part is that we need to expand our catalog of images when speaking of the redeeming love of God in Jesus. When Jesus compares himself to a mother hen, the door is open for finding ways to communicate the grace and love that we need to confess and repent. Our sinfulness does not exclude us from God’s grace. We can remember together that no matter how far short it seems like we fall, how far we lag behind on the discipleship path, God has not given up on us; there is still a place for us at the table of the Lord. Let our prayers, even the prayers of confession, be full of thanksgiving for forgiveness and for grace. Let us be inspired to love more, to risk more, to reach out more, to include more.

An Opportune Time – March 6, 2022

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Scripture: Luke 4: 1-13

We play a little bit with Luke’s words in verse 13, how the adversary left him “until an opportune time.” We can look at this from two directions. It could be those “opportune times” for temptation, when we are in the midst of struggle or questioning and find ourselves vulnerable to stray from our journey. Or perhaps it’s those opportune times for growth, for seizing the day perhaps, when we find ourselves drawn closer to the Christ, who wants to gather us up. Lent need not be a constant “downer,” where we focus on our failings. It is also a time when we recognize the joys of belonging, the growth in knowledge and wisdom, the support of the community around us. It is a time for knowing we need more, we want more, more Christ, more discipleship, more discipline.

Dazzling White – February 27, 2020

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Scripture: Luke 9: 28-36

The story of the Transfiguration pulls together all the revelations of the Christ to the point his face is changed, his disciples astonished, and his mission acknowledged and blessed by God.Those who encounter God are transfigured, enlightened, emblazoned. Early Christians were called “Illuminati” at their baptism because they now were to live with the light of Christ emanating from their lives. The story of the Transfiguration of Christ reminds us that, for sake of life, we are to let our lights shine because we have encountered and live in the reign of the loving and just God

Lessons of Love – February 20, 2022

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Scripture: Luke 6: 27-38

Loving your enemies…In Luke, Jesus goes to the mountains for prayer, reflection, refreshment, rejuvenation. It is while enjoying one of these mountaintop moments that Jesus singled out 12 apostles from among his many disciples. Immediately after this, Jesus leads his newly appointed apostles back down the mountain to “a level place,” a place where apostles, disciples and a crowd of eager people stand shoulder to shoulder. The level place accords them all equal footing, just as they are all equally in need of Jesus’ message. And this is what they hear.

Counterintuitive Conversations – February 13, 2022

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Scripture: Luke 6: 17-26

The Sermon on the Plain–blessings and woes. The narrative takes us to one of Jesus’ most well-known sermons — a litany of “blessed are they…” This litany would have resonated with his congregation on that mountaintop. It contained the laundry-list of the hardships they were enduring. But Jesus is pointing out the blessedness even in the midst of that context and instead of treating them as the powerless downtrodden, he calls them blessed. Indeed, following Jesus’ path can increase the struggles, but also the blessing

The Call to Follow – February 6, 2022

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The Call to Follow – February 6, 2022

Scripture: Luke 5: 1-11

The extraordinary catch of fish and the call to the first disciples to begin catching people resulted in their leaving everything behind to follow Jesus. This Sunday includes the celebration of communion. We are called by God, as the disciples were, to share in the abundant feast of that which binds us together, the grace of God. And to share the literal feast — the resources of this earth — is to live in the image of a holy and gracious God.

No Respect in His Hometown – January 30, 2022

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Scripture: Luke 4: 21-30

Beginning on such a positive note, the people in Jesus’ hometown don’t like the challenges he issues in the synagogue. We discover from this episode that God’s truth may come in ways that we choose not to accept. How often does our familiarity with an advice-giver cause us to disallow that person’s suggestions out of hand? He or she can’t know as much, we think, as someone who’s grown up in a more exciting part of the world, encountered more exotic situations or been blessed with the ability to think more deeply than most.

Scripture Fulfilled – January 23, 2022

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Scripture Fulfilled – January 23, 2022

Scripture: Luke 4: 14-21

Reading from the Torah scroll, Jesus claims the Spirit of the Lord to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. As Christians, we believe that there is something of value in gathering together to hear, see, and experience the Good News. We gather for worship to “try on for size” what right relationship looks like — what it is to suffer together and rejoice together. The kingdom of God is built up by this coming together and then by our walking in the world together in the ways of Jesus, the Anointed One. We recommit to the power of community—daring to wall for sake of the life of all God’s creation.

Glory Revealed – January 16, 2022

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Scripture: John 2: 1-11

The story of the wedding at Cana and the turning of water into wine shows that God’s covenant brings abundant life and our discipleship compels us to share this river of God’s delight with others. Wine is meant for sharing, and God’s glory is revealed in Christ as he blesses the community with abundance and joy.

Spirit and Fire – January 9, 2022

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Spirit and Fire – January 9, 2022

Scripture: Luke 3: 15-22

The seeds of hope for God’s reign are sown in an infant before whom the wise kneel. The early church believed that Epiphany (besides Easter and Pentecost) was one of the most important times of the year for baptisms, making this a wonderful Sunday to both baptize and reaffirm our baptism, a baptism of water and the Spirit.