Sermons
Who does God use?
Today is Fathers’ Day and I can’t say I found much to say about fathers in the texts . . . at least nothing particularly complimentary. So instead I decided to look at the broader context of all our texts and I found myself asking the question, which is the sermon title to no one’s surprise, “Who does God use?” As questions go, this one has some importance. So who…
Let’s talk about hospitality
What is hospitality? If we are going to talk about it as the sermon title suggests, we should probably give some thought to what it means. Hospitality is more than being civil to people you don’t know well, or perhaps at all. It is more than inviting people into your space—home, office, coffee shop table. It is more than entertaining, throwing a good party. Hospitality is all about making someone,…
Have you been called? Have I?
What does it mean to be called? I’m not talking about being called in for supper, important as that call is. Being called is being asked to take up a calling. Some people are called to be doctors, some to be teachers; these people feel that there is more to their career than a financial decision or even a personal preference. They are doing what they are meant to do….
It’s not the math
Not everyone likes math. That’s okay, not everyone likes coffee or cookies or sunsets or . . . . I don’t mind it, but I wasn’t very good at math beyond about grade seven. I could handle simple algebra, and later in high school, I had an absurdly intuitive grasp of trigonometry (go figure (pun very much intended)). I could never wrap my head around the concepts as concepts, so…
Who doesn’t want gifts?
The Day of Pentecost might not be the first day you think of in connection with gifts, and that’s okay because in the end, I didn’t really preach about gifts as much as inclusion. I was reading a post from Diana Butler Bass’ excellent substack (https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/ if you want to look her up) where she focused on the word “all” in the Pentecost readings. The more I reflected on what…
Why leave?
Today is the Sunday closest to Ascension Day. Today is also the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia. I found myself wondering how I was going to bring these two important things together. As I was wondering, pondering even, the Holy Spirit told me to stop worrying about it; it would work out. I may not be the fastest learner, but one thing I have learned is to listen…
What do we need to do?
Have you ever wondered what you need to do? I know I have. Sometimes it is rather trivial, maybe wondering if I should do the dishes or start supper. Sometimes it is anything but trivial, maybe wondering if I should pursue this or that career path. The question seems to be one that is likely to come up rather frequently as we go about our lives. I realize today is…
Stones and a builder
I remember one of the things I first learned when I began public speaking. It is something I did my best to drill into my public speaking students when I taught it myself. Don’t begin a talk/speech/toast/whatever with an apology. However, this isn’t any of those things, not even the “whatever.” Please accept my apologies for the delay in getting this post from Words From the Middle out so late….
Abundance? What does that mean?
This Sunday is frequently called the Good Shepherd Sunday. It makes sense, the Psalm is Psalm 23, the Gospel lesson is Jesus as the Good Shepherd, they all fit in. So why talk about abundance? The last part of the Gospel lesson says, “I [Jesus] came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10b NRSV) The rest of the Gospel lesson is Jesus talking about sheep, sheepfolds,…
No. No one is blind.
Today’s sermon comes from the story of two of Jesus’ disciples mournfully going to Emmaus. We don’t know why they were going there, but we know they encountered a person on the trip who asked them what they were talking about. They rhetorically asked the person if they were the only stranger in Jerusalem who hadn’t heard about the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. They explained what had happened, and…