Wicker Park Lutheran Church Sermons

“Do not worry about your life,” says Jesus in today’s reading from Matthew.  Clearly Jesus did not know about Pandemic, or hurricane Helena, or other disappointment, tragedy or other unexpected event. “Don’t worry” – are you kidding?  There is so very much to worry about – the economy, school, my children, the election, my parents, the President’s health, democracy, systemic racism. (I could name more but you get the picture and probably have your own list of worries).  Worry is one of those things that can consume us overwhelm us, weigh us down with the sheer force of its load...

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Today’s reading from Mark continues where we left off last week. Jesus still has a child in his arms after he reminded the disciples that welcoming the powerless, the dependent, and the vulnerable is what makes someone the greatest. And then, without missing a beat, John pipes up with what, I imagine, was an attempt at a humble brag. He says, “Hey, Jesus, I saw this person who was working for justice, liberating people from infliction, and healing people in your name...

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They just don’t get it. How many times does Jesus need to talk about his betrayal, execution, and resurrection? How many times will he need to tell them to focus on the marginalized, the lowly, the poor, and the outcast? It’s as though the disciples will never understand...

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Wicker Park Lutheran Church Vicar Kornelius Koppel September 8, 2024 Listen to Vicar Kornelius’ sermon here!

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Listen to Rev. Chrisida's sermon here!

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Today’s gospel is known as the Magnificat. It’s a song of praise sung by Mary, Jesus’s mother, but it seems oddly out of place in the narrative. Up to this point, an angelos, that is Greek for “messenger” or an angel, came to Mary. This messenger told Mary that she would conceive a son. And, she’s shocked, because she’s a virgin at that point. Nevertheless, before Mary’s shocked face wore off, she learned that her much older post-menopausal relative, Elizabeth, was pregnant. During the conversation, Mary consented to having Jesus and went to see Elizabeth...

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Today we continue our exploration of John’s gospel focused on bread. Last Sunday, Vicar Vicky was back with us, and she shared a powerful sermon about the word “belief” in John’s gospel. She reminded us that “belief” in John’s gospel is always a verb, which means its active. It’s not something you have but it’s something done. It could be translated as “do faith” or even better, trust. And that’s an important reminder for us as we look at today’s potion of John 6...

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When I was in seminary I took a course that was just “Preaching the Gospel of John” because while John is my favorite gospel writer, by a wide margin, he’s also the one that confuses me the most and the thought of needing to preach him intimidated me. Because like…John will say all of these words and…it’s not even like they’re words I don’t know! The sentences themselves will make perfect sense to me, but I still often will feel like something is happening in the passage that I am just not getting...

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Today we find ourselves in John chapter 6. We will stay in John’s gospel for the rest of the summer except for the Feast of Mary Mother of Our Lord in a few weeks. After that, we will get back to Mark’s gospel which is the focal gospel for this liturgical year...

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Wicker Park Lutheran Church Rev. Jason S. Glombicki July 21, 2024 Today, we celebrate the feast of Saint Mary Magdalene. She is probably one of the most misunderstood saints and biblical characters. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that she has been reinvented and rebranded century after century. For some centuries she was seen as the embodiment of Christian repentance. Other times she was called a prostitute. She was branded as everything from a mystic to a celibate […]

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