On this first Sunday of Advent, we consider the possibility of world peace. Seriously? When we look around, how can we possibly imagine world peace? What do Isaiah and Frederick the mouse have to say about that?

It may feel a bit odd just before Advent to be reading a passage with Jesus hanging on the cross between the two thieves, but this is Christ the King Sunday, the final Sunday in the church year, the culmination of the cycle that begins with the expectation of the birth and ends with the crowning of the King. But how can we understand Jesus as King when he was hung on a cross between two thieves?

Our series of sermons, “Lessons from the Road,” based on Luke 14-19, has followed Jesus as he moved from Galilee to Jerusalem. In today’s scripture, Jesus is in Jerusalem and is already in conflict with the religious leaders. The disciples, in Jerusalem for the first time, are stunned by the magnificence of the Temple, but Jesus warns them that at some point not one stone will be left upon another. He further challenges them to be faithful witnesses, even under the threat of death. What does this mean for us in the US today?

Continuing our series of sermons, “Lessons from the Road,” based on Luke 14-19, today’s scripture is the encounter between Jesus and the rich ruler in which the latter asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. In the end, Jesus tells him that he must sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor. Seriously? Does Jesus expect us to do that, too?

Continuing our series of sermons, “Lessons from the Road,” based on Luke 14-19, today’s scripture is the familiar story of the tax collector, Zaccheus, whose life is completely changed in response to the grace and hospitality of Jesus. Today is All Saints Sunday, and we especially remember those whose lives reflected that grace.

Continuing our series of sermons, “Lessons from the Road,” based on Luke 14-19, in today’s scripture Jesus tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in which the Pharisee is proud of his adherence to the rituals of his religion. We experience that as we interview for a job or apply for college – we put our best foot forward and tout our experience and qualifications. The tax collector, on the other hand, throws himself at God’s mercy. What is the role of humility in our lives?

Today is Laity Sunday, and West End member, Jeff Howerton is preaching. Continuing our series of sermons, “Lessons from the Road,” based on Luke 14-19, in today’s scripture Jesus tells the parable of “the persistent widow.” Jeff explains what’s going on in the parable as far as the roles of the widow and the judge’s, but he sees himself as neither of those and suspects most of us, too, do not identify with either. If we see ourselves as bystanders in this scene, what does the parable challenge us to do?

Continuing our series of sermons, “Lessons from the Road,” based on Luke 14-19, in today’s scripture Jesus heals ten lepers. Nine of them, freed from both their disease and its stigma, follow his command to see the priest to complete their healing. The tenth one, however, the lone Samaritan, turns back to thank Jesus. This act prompts Jesus to declare to him, “Your faith has made you whole.” What is this distinction between the curing of the ten and the making whole of the one?

Psalm 137 reminds us of the deep tragedies of the Babylonian exile when Jews found themselves ripped from their homes and taken to a place completely foreign to them. Many people in our own day experience exile: not only people who are torn from their land, but people in our midst who are alone, or ill, or unable to cope. To remember God is there, even in exile, is to know the power of Holy Communion, the suffering Christ shares, the invitation to all.

Continuing our series of sermons, “Lessons from the Road,” based on Luke 14-19, in today’s scripture Jesus tells the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. It is a dramatic example of what any of us can easily do, which is to ignore someone who needs at the very least to be noticed as a person and treated as such.