Sermons

On this 4th Sunday of Advent, this Advent Sunday of love, this Sunday before the hush of a silent and holy night, where God is birthed in darkness, it seems both necessary and important to revisit today what exactly Christmas is about.  “Jesus,” we might reply, nodding our heads knowingly.  And yes, Christmas is about… [Read More]

“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”  I don’t know much about wells, or drawing water, for that matter.  I’ve mostly had town or city water in my lifetime, except while camping or roughing it.  But drawing water from a well on a regular basis for daily needs sounds like a… [Read More]

Beware the incense. I bought a little incense burner the other day at Ross.  It cost $6, discounted, and is a round piece of wood with two little gold stars painted on it.  It is a replacement for a lovely lotus burner that one of the kids accidentally broke a month ago. There’s been a… [Read More]

Today, friends, we enter a new season — a new year, according to the church calendar, and we may be sensing some of that newness ahead of us here at BUCC today. Today we enter the season of Advent— something’s coming; that’s what Advent means.  Advent is a season for watching and waiting for something… [Read More]

Roger Ebert was the first movie critic ever to win a Pulitzer for criticism in 1975.  Just before his death of cancer in 2013, the famous critic wrote these last words for the Times, “So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me. I’ll see you at… [Read More]

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Years ago, when Frank and I traveled to Jerusalem, one of the places that we visited was the Western Wall, also known as the Kotel.  The Western Wall is one of the only remaining parts of the Jewish Second Temple, which was renovated and expanded by King Herod around 37 BCE.  Parts of the wall… [Read More]

The other day, our little nightlight in the bathroom broke.  I was searching for something in close quarters and my elbow hit it and then sent it ricocheting off the wall and crashing into our bathroom floor.  It was the second thing broken in a week; the first being one of my front teeth as… [Read More]

There are ghosts in our readings for today.  You may not see them; they may not look like those young sprites wearing all manner of sheets who drift through our darkened Halloween streets requesting candy.  In fact, you might not immediately recognize them as such, but they are there.   They lurk around the edges of… [Read More]

When is the last time that you felt awe?  Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines awe as “an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime.”  Did you find that part about dread surprising?  Well, awe is a mixing together of fear, wonder, and reverential respect, which makes it… [Read More]