Prepare Ye

January 7, 2011 - Found this post that had never been posted. Better late than never - maybe. This is my sermon for Maundy Thursday. The texts was Luke 22.14-32. I chose this because we virtually never get to hear Luke's telling of the Last Supper. I try to point out what is unique about the good Doctor's version, and what I think it means to us all. Luke’s telling of the Last Supper reminds me of a cover version of a song. A cover song is when someone other than the original performer sings a song, usually in a different arrangement. Sometimes, the tempo is different, the instruments are different and the new performer re-interprets the song. We are more familiar with the telling of the Last Supper that Matthew and Mark give us, or what Paul tells in the first Corinthian letter. Luke’s telling of the story is familiar, but there are some differences that jump out to us. Two cups of wine? Judas is never identified as the one who will betray Jesus? Jesus tells the Apostles that

Everybody Hurts - The Corrs from The Corrs Unplugged. The song was written and originally performed by REM, ( the video is AWESOME, but you can't embed it.) but this version is pretty darn good as well. Everybody Hurts - Written by REM (Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe) When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone, When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on) If you feel like letting go, (hold on) When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on 'Cause everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends Everybody hurts. Don't throw your hand. Oh, no. Don't throw your hand If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long, When you think you've had

This is my sermon text for Sunday, March 7. You can look up the lessons. The Gospel is from Luke and is about people questioning Jesus regarding some recent events. The Epistle's last line (from the Lectionary) is cited here. When I entered her hospital room, she did not look up. That was fine with me, because, I really did not want to be there either. It was my third week at the Hershey Medical Center, and I was not having a good time. One of the steps we must go through during our pursuit of becoming a pastor is something called CPE. CPE stands for Clinical Pastoral Education. Most students do as I did, and spend the summer between your first and second years of seminary as a chaplain at a hospital, or nursing home, or some other facility. You are under the supervision of a trained chaplain, and you get to experience hands on pastoral situations. You visit with patients and their families and talk with them. It is one of the times seminarians fear and dread, because throughout yo

I'm cleaning out the closet of unused sermons. This one is from February 7, the 5th Sunday of Epiphany. It was written in outline form and I've quickly put it into sentence-like things. Please excuse missing punctuation or incomplete thoughts. The texts are here . This week’s lessons are about answering the call of God In the play, and movie, Fiddler on the Roof, the main character, Tevye, says in prayer, “God, I know. I know. We are your chosen people. But, once in awhile, can't you choose someone else?" A common thought of people who are called by God is “Here I am Lord. Send someone else.” Many people are called. Many people hear the call. Not all are willing to answer that call. Because that call is terrifying. The prophet Isaiah has a vision of God sitting on a throne. God is SO large that just the hem of God’s robe fills the Temple. The throne is surrounded by Seraphim. These are not the cute, cuddly baby angels we have come to think of, I don’t know

Truth in posting disclosure - This was to be my sermon/message for Ash Wednesday, but we got snowed out again. Figured I'd share this with my half-dozens of readers for your amusement. After I was confirmed, when I was a teenager, I did not like the worship services when we received Communion. It was ironic that after two years of classes, of studying and of education, now that I was able to receive the body and blood of our Savior Jesus Christ, I did not like those services. I could not figure out why. I thought maybe it was because I did not feel worthy of receiving communion, that I wasn’t “good enough.” But that wasn’t it. Maybe I was afraid I would make a mistake, and go forward when I should not, or that I would drop or spill something. But that wasn’t it. It was not until I returned back to St. John after having spent way too long away from the church. Our family’s “assigned seats” were on the far right of the sanctuary as you looked from the back, right across the aisle fro

Just to ‘fess up, this was originally my sermon for Transfiguration Sunday, February 14. The Gospel lesson for that day was Luke 9:28-43. Jesus went up to the mountain and was transformed. That is an experience that I understand. No, I did not have a revelation or epiphany during the weeks when I have been snowed in at the Garden. I’m actually referring to the last weekend of January when I went to Eagle Eyrie camp for the Virginia Synod’s Winter Celebration event. Now as someone from Michigan, who is actually used to getting this much snow, we celebrated winter that weekend, twelve to sixteen inches of winter. Winter Celebration is one of several youth events put on by the Virginia Synod as faith building, sustaining, nurturing events for youth. I strongly encourage the youth to go to these events, and I encourage adults to go as chaperones or as small group leaders. There is something about getting away from your everyday life, going up a mountain, (the camp where most of the events

My favorite piece of classical music and one of my favorite Muppets all in one. Beethoven's Ode to Joy as done by Beeker.

Today, (February 8, 2010) the day after the Super Bowl, there are several writers who are writing apologies or rationales for Peyton Manning walking off at the end of the game without acknowledging any of the victorious Saints. And I call BULLSHIT. They say shaking hands after a loss is disingenuous. They say walking off isn't a sign of poor sportsmanship. And I call BULLSHIT. Whether it was LaBron James, Bill Belachuck or my beloved Detroit Pistons Bad Boys, it is classless, poor sportsmanship and just lame to go running into the tunnel at the end of the game. It is a poor example for younger players and it shows outright cowardice. You stand in the arena and do battle. When the contest is over, you congratulate the other person or team because IT IS JUST A GAME. Losing hurts. Losing sucks. But someone is going to lose when you play a game. When it's your time to be on the fuzzy side of the lollipop, suck it up and go over an congratulate the winner. Show som

Will you fight? No, we will run and live. Shame on you. This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you're going to let it be the worst. And I guarantee a week won't go by in your life you won't regret walking out, letting them get the best of you. Well, I'm not going home. We've come too far! And I'm going to stay right here and fight for this lost cause. A day may come when the courage of men fails... but it is not THIS day. The line must be drawn HERE. This far, no further! I'm not saying it's going to be easy. You're going to work harder than you ever worked before. But that's fine, we'll just get tougher with it! If a person grits his teeth and shows real determination, failure is not an option. That's how winning is done! Believe me when I say we can break this army here, and win just one for the Gipper. But I say to you what every warrior has known since the beginning of time: you've got to get mad. I mean plum mad dog m

While on our trip to Myrtle Beach, we spend some time at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, feeding my inner parrot-head. So as a way to fight the winter blahs, I may be highlighting some of Jimmy's songs. Hey, consider yourself lucky that you aren't being forced to listen to my iPod mixes. Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefers - One Particular Harbour

I spent part of this week in Myrtle Beach with my mother. She has been visiting me here in the Garden since before Thanksgiving. I promised her that if she came down here, she would be out of the cold and snow. Boy, did I screw that one up. So we went to Myrtle Beach, and while it was cold for them, it was a great respite for us. This is a combination of different versions of the sermon I gave today (January 17). It was not the sermon I thought I would give when we headed to Myrtle Beach. I was mentally writing a sermon on gifts. That shows up in here. I thought about the greatness of the proclamation of the Isaiah text. That shows up in here. I decided against preaching about the bossiness of the mother of Jesus, at least while my mom was in attendance. But it shows up in here. I don't know what I think of this sermon. I'm conflicted with faith in the face of the death in Haiti. That shows up big time in here. ‘ You save humans and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your s

This is my manuscript for the sermon I was going to preach on Sunday celebrating the Baptism of Jesus. Church was canceled in the Garden due to drifting and I wasn't sure of the roads to head down the mountain. The texts we re Isaiah 43:1-7 , Acts 8:14-17 and Luke 3:15-22. I had to look up what threshing was, because, well, to be honest, we don’t do a lot of wheat farming in Saginaw, Michigan. In the threshing rooms, the grains of wheat are place on the ground and then pounded until they break open. The stalks of wheat are beaten by sticks and rods. Metal bars and chains are used to pound the stalks. They are trampled upon by cattle and other animals. They are crushed under rollers exerting tremendous pressure. It is then that the valuable seeds are separated from the useless husks and stalks that surrounded and hid them. It is a way of breaking open the shells to get at the important things inside. A winnowing fork or fan is then used to toss the broken mixture into the air. Th

Suzanne Vega - The Soldier and the Queen / World Before Columbus

This was my sermon for our Advent mid-week service on December 23rd. Please excuse the choppiness, I used an outline which I have tried to flesh out for this. The West Wing is one of my favorite shows. I especially love a scene between Leo McGary, the White House Chief of Staff, and Josh Lyman, his deputy. Josh has been dealing very poorly with having been shot, and is forced to see a therapist. Leo waits until late in the evening for Josh to get out of his appointment, and then tells him this story. "This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out. A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, 'Hey you. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, 'Father, I'm down in this hole can you help me out?' The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by, 'Hey,

This is the manuscript I wrote for January 3; to preach on John 1.1-18 . I delivered an abbreviated version of the sermon because we had a very sparsely attended service and the sanctuary was very cold. When the lector reads the lessons while wearing gloves, I can take a hint. I love this piece of Scripture. Of all of the Gospels, the Gospel according to John is my favorite. It is different from the three Synoptic Gospels. It tells a different version of the story of the life and ministry and it does so in the beginning. Let’s assume you are called upon by the Holy Spirit to write the gospel of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. How would you start? Now up to this time, no one has ever written a ‘gospel.’ People have written narratives of the life or events surrounding a person. But no one has written an account of a person who is the Savior of humanity. So if you are called upon to do it, how do you start? You have the blank papyrus scroll and a fresh quill in your hand. How

As I walk through this wicked world, searching for light in the darkness of insanity, I ask myself: is all hope lost? Is there only pain and hatred and misery? And each time I feel like this inside, there's one thing I wanna know: what's so funny 'bout peace, love & understanding? Elvis Costello & the Imposters - What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding? Hope to post more regularly.