Musings about Faith

Read the text here: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down Probably we are all familiar with this child’s playground rhyme:   Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of posies, Ashes, ashes, we all fall down. Probably many of us have not only heard this before but maybe even some of us can remember chanting it on the playground when we were children. What we may not realize though is that that children’s rhyme is all about death and suffering.   Like many fairy tales which tend sometimes to be rather dark, having come out of dark times and experiences, this particular rhyme has been traced by some scholars back to the time of the Black Death – the Bubonic Plague outbreak in London in the early 17 th century.   The rhyme touches on a common symptom of the disease – the rosie ring - an unfortunately completely ineffective prevention strategy – the pocket full of posies - but ends with death – “ashes, ashes, we all fall down.” And it is tr...

The text for this sermon is Luke 2 - the Christmas story - read it here. What a joyful story this Christmas story is! Angels announcing the birth of the Christ child to a group of shepherds – shepherds, who in 1 st century Palestine were treated as untouchables, who were despised and excluded, who were dirty and smelly, but who still are the ones to whom God announces the birth of the child.   And it is these shepherds who then run off to... where? Let’s see the text says about that: Well all it says is that Jesus is to be found laying in a manger – that is a feeding trough.   And feeding trough are to be found where there are animals; and animals, actually goats to be exact, were usually secured in the many caves that can be found throughout the hills outside of Bethlehem.   Why goats? There was no need to put sheep in there because sheep have nice wool coats that enable them to withstand the bitter cold nights, but goats have no coats so would freeze to death if lef...

We have come to the final story and the final sign that Jesus performs in the Gospel of John. This then is also the final installment in our sermon series on John.   And in this final chapter 21 John brings everything together for us and focuses us on the two most important and central themes in the Gospel.   And these are…         First – God loves the world! God loves the world and all that God has created more than we can even find words to describe; accordingly God loves you.   We see this love of God’s in the incarnation – the en-fleshing of God in Jesus - and in Jesus’ giving up himself in love at the end in the crucifixion.   And the subsequent resurrection proclaims and celebrates that it is love that will always win in the end.   Nothing is stronger than the power of God’s love. And as long as we remain attached to the Vine we are always connected to the source of God’s abundant love.     ...

“It is finished!” These were Jesus’ last words on the cross before he died.   But what is finished?   This is the question that John leaves with us as we conclude the story of Jesus’ crucifixion.   It is finished – as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus lovingly care for Jesus’ body, anointing it with spices and wrapping it in a linen shroud.   It is finished - as they then place Jesus’ body in the tomb and the stone is rolled into place.   It is finished!   It is over!   The end!   Now what? And it is not only those of us who are reading this story who are struggling with this question.   Obviously the disciples, the Judean authorities and even the Romans are pretty convinced that it is all over, it is finished, done!   Well, we took care of that “Jesus” problem!   But, not so fast… “And the Word became made flesh and dwelt among us…” – and tented among us, and moved into the neighborhood!   God became en-fleshed, incarnate...