Sermons

Have you ever witnessed something that you wished you could unsee?  In your personal life, have you ever had an encounter or a conversation or just observed something that you wish you had not?  Often when that happens, our minds spin, depending on the relationships involved and what we have personally observed.  There is a… [Read More]

In Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem, “One Boy Told Me,” a little boy innocently asks, “What does minus mean?” In today’s world, “minus” can mean 3 million deaths by Covid worldwide, or nearly 20,000 deaths by gun violence in 2020, or the extinction of the Chiriqui harlequin frog from our planet.  Or perhaps a “minus” can… [Read More]

The great Christian proclamation of Easter is that Resurrection happens. Even today, two thousand and eighteen years after Jesus’ death, it is a lot to take in… Jesus rising from a tomb back then and his ability to rise even now. So, it is not so very odd if, on a personal level, you wrestle… [Read More]

Today, on Palm Sunday, the official start of Holy Week, we have an opportunity to speak of courage.  We have an opportunity to view Jesus and ourselves through the lens of courage: the courage that it takes to show up, to protest or to fight for a cause, the courage to give one’s testimony, the… [Read More]

For those of us residing in the northern hemisphere, spring is finally and officially here. Each spring, I usually get the urge to do some spring cleaning—clearing house, so to speak.  You know the deal:  suddenly, you want to hose down the windows, pull out all dead growth around the outside of your home, organize… [Read More]

In the past week, several folks on both sides of the pond having been talking about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah.  The interview was truly an exposé and gave surprising (perhaps even shocking) details about their experience in dealing with the palace as an institution and members of the “Firm” as they… [Read More]

In 1966, in an interview with CBS’ Mike Wallace, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said this: “I contend that the cry of ‘black power’ is, at bottom, a reaction to the reluctance of white power to make the kind of changes necessary to make justice a reality for the Negro…I think that we’ve got… [Read More]

Peter has just heard what he does not want to hear.  Jesus has been going around teaching hard truths—that he will endure suffering, rejection, and ultimately be killed.  Imagine for a moment quitting your profession, following some leader’s movement, and giving your life for that cause, only to have that person, that cause, tell you… [Read More]

Henry Miller, the author, once wrote, “We live at the edge of the miraculous.” We live at the edge of the miraculous… I don’t know about you, but the idea of living on an edge, any edge, sets my heart to rapid beating and not with love.  Living on an edge is anxiety-producing, risky, and… [Read More]

I’ve been feeling uncertain lately.  It’s not just a feeling—it appears to be the reality of things.  Not knowing when a vaccine will be given.  Not knowing if my kids are going to return to school anytime soon, despite the March 15th return of at least some of their class.  Not knowing whether the benefits… [Read More]