“The man said, ‘We had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found’” (Lk 15:32). Can you imagine being there during this feast? Can you imagine the hurt of the one brother who had stuck with his father through it…
God called “Moses, Moses!” and Moses answered, “Here I am!”God welcomed Moses by appearing in flames on a bush. And then God told Moses, “Come no closer!” How would you feel if someone invited you to church and you made the effort to attend, and then they ignored you. Or if you had no idea…
In Paul’s letter to the church in Phillipi today, we read, “Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us” (Phil 3:17). “Join in imitating me.” Jesus invites us to be like him. He invites us in to observe, and in observing, we are…
In today’s Gospel, we hear that Jesus wandered in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. During that time he was tempted by the devil. “In the wilderness”… We so often think of a desert or a barren area when we hear the phrase in the wilderness. But I think instead we should consider…
Every once in a while, I pull out a kids’ sermon for adults… not because I think adults can’t understand the usual sermons I give, but because it’s important for us to all have some play time in our lives. Today is one of those days, and I’m going to ask you to play along…
There are a lot of great and important passages on love in the Bible. We’ve got (in my personal top ten list of love lines in the Bible): God is love. (1 John 4:8) We love because God first loved us. (1 John 4:19) God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy…
The central theme of the readings this week is the contrast between those who follow God’s ways and those who don’t. Jeremiah speaks of how those who turn away from God and trust in their own strength are cursed, but those who trust in God and God’s providence are like trees planted near a river;…
Most scholars think that Luke didn’t just record a biography of Jesus when he wrote around 80-90 CE, but shaped the story of the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles to address circumstances in the church of his time. If we think about it, it isn’t that different from what we do if we…
Thank you to the Rev. Charles Hoffacker for today’s sermon thoughts. Today’s gospel presents us with Jesus’ first act of public ministry, described for us in Luke’s gospel. Following his river baptism and his long wilderness fast and temptation, Jesus returns to his home country, Galilee. Reports about him have been spreading through the population,…
Now THAT is a lot of wine! Between 120 and 180 gallons of wine. And you’ll notice that they were not earthenware containers typically used for holding wine, but rather stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification – the washing of hands and vessels. Let’s take a step back and look at the…
“Thus says the Lord: … Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. … I will be with you… For I am the Lord your God… I love you. … Do not fear, for I am with you.” (portions of Isaiah 43:1-7) You probably are afraid…
The Episcopal Church is a very restrictive church when it comes to celebrations that happen on Sunday. On page 15 of the Book of Common Prayer (YES! There are pages before 355 in the BCP!), The Epiphany is described as a “Principal Feast” held on January 6. The BCP states “These feasts take precedence of…
