Musings about Faith

Read the text here: Luke 4:14-21 Can You Handle the Truth? Since the days of the ancient Greeks and Romans and on to our own day, one of the great temptations that human beings have struggled with it is the place of religion in human society.   And in the majority of cases the purpose that religion has fulfilled has been to support the way the things are – to support the status quo.   The loudest proclamation that comes down through the ages is this: “God is on our side, no matter what.” Ancient paganism was designed to support the temporal powers and the Old Testament is filled with the angry words of the prophets condemning a people and government who would convert the worship of Yahweh into department of state propaganda.   Even in our own time we see this from way too often. We like to think that God is on our side and we hear this all the time – this candidate, this issue, is ordained as what God wants. It makes it hard to oppose or vote against someone...

Read the Gospel text here: Luke 3:15-22 Fire, Water & Wind When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.   Isaiah 43:2 Fire, water and wind: natural elements necessary for life; natural elements capable of sustaining life and also capable of destroying life.   But these elements are featured prominently in our lessons for today both for their life-giving and life-destroying aspects.   The prophet Isaiah in the passage from chapter 43 is writing to a dispirited and lost people who are in exile in Babylon.   These are people who had literally been through the fire as they fled their beloved city Jerusalem as it burned to the ground in a huge conflagration.   These are people who had experienced waves upon waves of Babylonian soldiers overrunning their city and their homes; waves u...

Listen to the Isaiah 60 text sung - from Handel's Messiah - Click here Read the Isaiah 60 text here: Isaiah 60:1-9 Epiphany 2013 How do we discern the light from the darkness? There is an old story about a rabbi who enters into a discussion with his students.   When, he asks them, can one know that the night has ended and the day begun?   Is it that moment, suggests one student, when you can tell the difference between a sheep and a dog?   No, said the rabbi, that isn't it.   Is it, asks another, when you can tell the difference between an olive tree and a fig tree?   Not that either, said the rabbi.   Is it, asks a third student, when you can clearly see the sun in the sky.   No, replied the rabbi.   Rather, he told his puzzled students, it is that moment when you can look at a face never seen before and recognize the stranger as a brother or a sister.   Until that moment, he added, no matter how bright the day, it is still night...

Read the text here: Luke 2:41-52 --> We do not have much information about Jesus’ childhood.   In fact the Gospel lesson for the 1 st Sunday after Christmas – Luke 2:41-52 – is about all.   Of course we would be curious about what Jesus was like and what kinds of experiences he might have had when he was a child.   This natural curiosity prompted the creation of a book called The Infancy Gospel of Thomas in the 3 rd or 4 th centuries.   The book pretends to have been written by the disciple Thomas, but is a rather fantastic set of stories that make Jesus sound more like the pre-Hogwarts Harry Potter who didn’t know how to use his power and ended up causing all kinds of havoc as a result.   As fun as this book is to read, we can glean nothing about Jesus from it.   So we really only know two things about Jesus’ childhood for certain.   The first is that Jesus grew up in Nazareth that at that time was a small village.   Nearby, ...

Read the text here:  Luke 2:1-20 --> Holy Time “In those days…” begins the Gospel story.   “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus”   Luke is very specific about those days.   Which days are those days?   They are days marked by those who hold absolute power – Caesar Augustus and Quirinius the Roman Governor in Syria.   “In those days…” daily life is lived – both at the time of Jesus and in our own time.   “Those days…” are marked with successes and failures, joy and sorrow, loss and grief and most of all fear.   “Do not be afraid” says the angel first to Zechariah then to Mary and now to the Shepherds.   “Do not be afraid!”   Why is it that every proclamation of the angels in the story that takes the first two chapters of Luke is prefaced with these words – “Do not be afraid”?   Because fear defines and governs “ those days .”   Fear is what prompts decisions and shapes relationships.   ...

Read the text here: Luke 1:39-56 Singing of the Promises In many ways the opening two chapters of the Gospel of Luke is a lot like a great musical.   Every time you turn around someone is bursting into song.   There are a total of 4 songs within the first two chapters.   It is as if the joy is too great to be conveyed in words and the various characters have to resort to song: 1.      Mary’s Song - The Magnificat, 1:46-55; (Sermon for Advent 4) 2.      Zechariah’s Song – The Benedictus, 1:68-79 (Sermon from Advent 2) 3.      The Angel’s Song – Gloria in excelsis, 2:14 (Sermon for Christmas) 4.      The Song of Simeon – Nunc Dimitus, 2:29-32 (Sermon for New Year’s Eve) We begin with the elderly priestly couple Elizabeth and Zechariah.   Elizabeth is barren, but hopes for a child. Zechariah is visited by an angel who declares that he and Elizabeth will...

On Saturday I completely re-wrote my sermon for Advent III in light of the horrific tragedy in Newtown, CT.  The sermon attempts to address this shooting in the context of Advent III and the lessons appointed for the day: Zephaniah 3:14-20; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-8. You can listen to a recording from the Saturday evening service here:   Listen to Advent III Sermon The sermon makes mention of an Altarpiece from the 15th century artist Matthais Grünewald - 1475-1528.  Here is a digital copy of that beautiful artwork - please note how John the Baptist is pointing his finger towards the cross. Here is a link to an article that I found very helpful for answering the question about how to relate to those who are experiencing this kind of pain and grief: Dealing with Grief - 5 Things to Say and Not to Say   Finally - let us pray.... "When aimless violence takes those we love, When random death strikes childhood’s promise down, When wrenching loss bec...