Sermon: Tidings for the Downtrodden

"Tidings for the Downtrodden" (December 20, 2009) On Christmas we don't celebrate only how Jesus was born, but who he was and is, and for that we can get no better source than his own mother. In the passage known as the Magnificat, Mary describe what Jesus means to her, an unwed peasant girl: salvation,…

Sermon: Tidings of Possibility

"Tidings of Possibility" (December 13, 2009) We celebrate the birth of Christ as a miracle, but it sometimes seems that the miracle is not that he is born or how that may have happened. The miracle is that joy happens, even and especially in the midst of tremendous pain and fear and suffering. This is…

Let it begin with me.

I didn't watch the President's speech last night. In fact, while President Obama was addressing the nation, I was meeting with a couple to plan for their wedding at the end of this month. He's in the military, and preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, and wants to be sure that his fiancee and their daughter…

Sermon: Tidings of God’s Reign

“Tidings of God’s Reign” (November 29, 2009) Advent is a time of waiting, but do we know what we are waiting for? The Gospel reading paints a frightening picture of ‘the coming of the Son of Man,’ and in many ways God’s reign is frightening to those who are comfortable with the status quo. But…

Praying for the President

(a bit belated, with apology, but I was asked for a response) I prayed for George W. Bush. Now, most of you know that I have never been a big fan of the man. I think he was not a good leader, he made horrific blunders that cost thousands of lives, and his policies did…