Holy Trinity Ankeny

The way we answer this question will determine the shape of our living and the life of the world. There are many answers available, but many of them leave us and the world unchanged, untransformed, unredeemed. The Feast of the Transfiguration reveals who Jesus is in ways that surprise, challenge and leave us free of our fear. Listen to him!

Our Gospel continues Jesus' Sermon on the Plain. Jesus preaches about mercy, which is manifested in our love for our enemies. Hear Jesus' radical, challenging sermon about living as Kingdom people and being like Jesus.

On this Super Bowl Sunday, a day when millions of dollars will be spent on ads, food, prizes, travel and gambling, Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor. Woe to the rich.” On a day when tables will be piled with food and drink, Jesus says, “Blessed are the hungry. Woe to those well fed.” What are we to make of this collision of values and worldviews? What is Jesus telling us about the reign of God, already here and not yet realized?

The Word of God, we are told, is a mighty and powerful force. Yet, most seem to think it is just religious words printed in a book. Does God speak to and call us as it happened in ages past? Most of us probably shy away from such thinking, assuming we will be thought crazy. If God is calling you, what shall you do?

It is easy to think Jesus is just like us, that he looks like us, votes like us and roots for the same team as we do. Today, Jesus' hometown hears who Jesus is and what love looks like. Jesus doesn't meet our selfish expectations; instead he reaches beyond us to bring good news to poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and gives freedom to the oppressed. 

The constitutive action of establishing a new “normal,” a new reality on the midst of a broken world, is not a new program, a new building, a new idea, it is worship. Worship in our age has lost the power to create because we make it about us, and we expect so little. Nehemiah and the people of God knew better as they returned from exile. Jesus dared to declare that in speaking the promises of God, they actually happened.

The first of the seven “signs” reported in John’s gospel happens at Cana as Jesus transforms about 90 gallons of water into 90 gallons of fine wine. Pretty neat trick. John does not share this story to amaze us, however. Instead, as with all the “signs” in this gospel, they tell us something about the nature and identity of God revealed in Christ. Each of the seven signs tend to refute some misshapen understanding of God we hold. What does turning the water of purification into the wine of celebration say about God?

On this Sunday we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. Why did Jesus get baptized? What value is Jesus' baptism to us today? This text is appropriately linked to Isaiah's message to a band of uprooted men and women living in captivity. We have our own times of captivity when we feel overwhelmed, adrift, afraid, and when we don't quite measure up. Listen to God's message for you.

Whenever bad things happen, someone inevitably calls it “God’s will” or “God’s plan.” The horrific wildfire this week in Colorado, the pandemic, perhaps even burning the toast in the morning can all become epiphanies – manifestations of God’s will. Are these things all part of God’s plan? In this preacher’s reading of scripture, not very often – if at all. God’s plan has been unfolding from before time, manifest in creation itself and in the Magi’s journey to Bethlehem. It is not a mystery. It is revealed in Christ. The writer of Ephesians outlines God’s plan clearly. It’s a plan that has nothing to do with explaining away life’s struggles and everything to do with divine love.

Jesus is twelve years old in our Gospel reading today.  Having traveled to Jerusalem for the Festival of Passover, the family is on their way back home with a caravan of friends and family. After a day's journey, Jesus is nowhere to be found. Mary and Joseph return to Jerusalem to look for him. We, also, can lose Jesus. Find out how we lose Jesus and where we can find him. Learn how Jesus deals with our distracted nature and finds us.