Advent 3, 2024

When Elizabeth discovers that Mary is pregnant with Jesus, Elizabeth does something amazing (Luke 1:39-55).  Instead of feeling threatened that her own pregnancy would be overshadowed, she rejoices and magnifies Mary’s joy.

What allows Elizabeth to do the almost divine thing here, to celebrate, free of jealousy, for another’s humans success?  Perhaps it is her conviction that she had a part to play in God’s unfolding drama in Jesus Christ.  Elizabeth knows in this story, every role, every person matters.  This allows her to rejoice in her own role and rejoice to discover how God works in the lives of others.

That said, in Elizabeth’s life, there were many times when she wasn’t sure what her role actually entailed.  In our lives too, we don’t always know.  Instead, we must live by the promise, that we matter to God and that God’s mercy is from generation to generation.  For the stuff that Mary sings about — the world turning upside down — doesn’t happen overnight and requires our faithful actions over the generations.

Pastor Rob begins his sermon by admitting that he has an obsession with correctly loading the dishes.  It turns out for that task — and for many others — we need information.

Mary is given the world’s biggest task, namely, bear the son of God in her womb.  Yet, God gives her an incredibly little amount of information.  Why is this?

Pastor Rob reflects on the call of Mary as well as our own callings in life and reminds us that ultimately, if we follow the call of God, we will discover the cross.  If we knew all about the crosses we would face in life, we might never get out of bed, much less say yes to God’s call to love and serve our neighbor!

Instead of information, Mary is given two things.  First, a friend who is wise.  Second, the promise that “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

These two things God also gives to us.  And with them, we can say, like Mary:  “Lord, Here I am.  Let it be with me according to your Word!”

Advent 1 (December 1, 2024)

Did you know that Barbie was launched on March 9, 1959?  It turns out that the makers of the Barbie movie made the odometer of the car read “030959” in homage to this date.  This is one of many “Easter Eggs” in the film; many films have “Easter Eggs”, references to other films or historical events.  You likely miss them the first time, but when you replay the movie, they bring a smile and recognition that the director is good and creative.

In life, God drops lots of Easter Eggs for us — small things that point us to the fact that life’s “director” is faithful, creative, if not even humorous.  

Yet, we miss them!  And even when we see them, we often struggle to believe that they are revelations of God’s goodness in our lives.  

In the story of Zechariah meeting the angel Gabriel in the temple (Luke 1:8-20), Zechariah struggles to believe.  Zechariah’s struggles of faith are like ours, as life grinds us down, closing off our heart to God’s work in our lives.

Pastor Rob reminds us that the solution of the angel for Zechariah’s unbelief is silence. Likewise, the medicine for our inability to see the “Easter Eggs” is silence.  This Advent, these weeks leading up to Christmas, we too are invited into silence, to contemplate the Easter Eggs both in Scripture but also our lives.  For God, in Jesus Christ, has promised to be faithful to us, even when we struggle to believe.

The trial scene of Jesus before Pilate has two witnesses, one testifying to the power of love (Jesus); one testifying to the love of power (Pilate).

After reflecting on how we see these two worldviews colliding throughout history, both in secular society but also in the church, Pastor Rob brings it back to our lives. 

What does your life bear witness to:  The power of love or the love of power?

This testimony is first borne out in our lives.

This testimony is also borne out at the communion rail, where we acknowledge both our tendency to give into the love of power, but also confess our ultimate hope in the power of love, who is Jesus.

The image of from James Tissot’s work:  Jesus Before Pilate, Second Interview (Jésus devant Pilate. Deuxième entretien), 1886-1894

November 10, 2024

Jesus praises a poor widow for giving two small coins to the temple treasury.  In itself, this is a powerful story of sacrificial giving.   What really makes it striking though, is that this very temple is declared to be corrupt by Jesus.   Yet Jesus still praises her.

When we give as Christians, we do so in a world in which there is corruption, greed and hardness of the human heart.  Yet Jesus still commands and praises generosity.  Why? 

— Giving is an act of obedience to a faithful God; it declares human sin will not limit God’s action
— Giving is an act of defiance to a faithless world; it declares human sin will not limit our action

The sermon ultimately focuses on the faithfulness of God, for Jesus’ teaching and life — as well as the ministry of St. Paul congregation — bear witness to how God works in, with and under generosity.

All Saints Sunday 2024 (Nov 3)

The sunflower on the maintenance road didn’t get the memo — it didn’t belong there and it was too late in the season.  Yet it was there, and for the folks walking by, it became a beautiful symbol of God’s faithfulness.  In spite of how broken our world is, there remains enough signposts and sacraments, signs of God’s goodness, that we are forced to reckon with the reality of God’s presence and faithfulness in our lives.

This All Saints Sunday we reflect on the sunflowers on the road of our lives — the people whose presence bore witness to God’s faithfulness in our lives.  We link back to Jesus meeting people on the road of life’s sorrows (John 11:32-44) as he becomes the chief sunflower on the road for us.

Jesus offers us a freedom that at first seems like a strange freedom:  The freedom to serve others.

We are inclined to think of freedom differently, as the ability to do what we want, when we want to, because we want to.  Yet, precisely if we’ve swum in those moral waters, the “do what you want” waters, we realize that freedom is not freedom and is not life.  We are hungry for a different kind of freedom.

This freedom is the freedom Christ gives – the freedom to love and serve others.

To reflect on this freedom, we look at the life of the Apostle John.  He had many chapters in his life – chapters of arrogance, chapters of grief, chapters of rivalry.  Yet he writes a book whose chapters are about humility, resurrection and fellowship.  What happened to him?  He followed Jesus, who was not simply his teacher, but his ransom, who set him free to serve others.

(Note, in the middle ages, people would often symbolize John with an eagle, for his Gospel “soared” above the others.  John certainly had insight and talent, but it would need to be set free, free from his own agenda, his grief and his rivalry.  This striking image was found on Flickr; the artist, Lawrence OP, as beautiful photos of church art.)

“I am the rich Jesus is talking about???”

When Jesus says, “It is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God” many of us as Americans get uncomfortable…

Are they for us?  Are we the rich Jesus is addressing?  Or do the rich refer to the “Scrooge McDuck”s of the world, the people obscenely wealthy?

Pastor Rob offers two questions to wrestle with in determining whether our money is a problem

1. Do our possessions possess us or do we possess our possessions?
2. Is our identity wrapped up in our wealth and possessions?

Toward the end of the sermon, Pastor Rob offers two powerful words of grace

1. We are works in progress, trying to figure out faith and finances
2. We are worship in progress.  Life is about more thing than consumption of things, it is about worshipping the Lord!

October 6, 2024

“I believe, help my unbelief!” cries the father who has brought his sick son to Jesus (Mark 9:24).

Like all who have long prayed for a suffering family member, the man is brought to the brink.  While he sees the strength, conviction and love of Jesus — before his very eyes — he acknowledges the forces against him are ancient, mighty and hideous.

A reflection on what we do when we find our own prayer the prayer of this father — “I believe, help me in my unbelief.”

This artwork is from an artist named Judy Cooley.  

“What we do in life echoes in eternity” – a stoic philosopher said it first (Marcus Aurelius) but most of us know it through the movie Gladiator.

When one hears the Gospel today (Mark 9:38-50), one could argue that Jesus seems to say something similar, as he both promises blessing and warns of condemnation based on our actions.  It is true that our actions can have a huge impact on the world around us and long into the future.

However, it is a bit more marvelous and subtle that this, because Jesus has made a choice that echoes throughout eternity as well, namely, he chose to go to the cross, condemn evil and then bring forth new life.