Author: Chris Kelly
Chris Kelly
– April 24, 2011
Text: Matthew 28:1-10
We are creatures of a moment. Our lives are small bits of encapsulated time. Seemingly bounded on both ends, mortals with beginnings and endings. Here is what we know for sure: we go from ashes to ashes, dust to dust. We say on Ash Wednesday: Remember that you are dust. And to dust you shall return. As if we needed reminding. We are assembled in the beginning from the ashes of long-dead stars. We are disassembled in the end to become the dusty raw ingredients of some other new life. Here is what we know for sure: birth, life, death. For all of us, it is the same. The same story.
Read more on Here is what we do not know: almost everything…
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Chris Kelly
– April 17, 2011
Text: Matthew 21:1-11
Other texts: Passion according to Matthew
The sermon traditionally follows a reading from one of the four Gospels. That is because the preacher is supposed to take that his or her starting place. Even when the sermon talks about another of the readings, it is supposed to be influenced by the themes of the Gospel reading. But what are we to make of a day, like today, when there are two Gospel readings?
Read more on Great Expectations…
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Chris Kelly
– March 28, 2011
Text: Exodus 17:1-7, John 4:5-42
Their fear obliterated their memory and it erased their gratitude. Without water in the desert, they forgot that God had freed them from slavery, had defeated their foes, and had fed them as they searched for the land to which God had sent them. Now, thirsty, impatient, and terrified, they complained to Moses: where is God? Is God among us—or not?
Read more on Is God With Us or Not?…
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Chris Kelly
– March 13, 2011
Text: Genesis 3:1-7
It is tempting to read this passage in Matthew as a call to us to be perfect.
We are all tempted by one thing or another, we think, and in this Gospel story Jesus is tempted by the same things. One view is that we all need food, we all need safety, and we all need to have some control over our lives. So those are the things with which the tempter tests Jesus. A darker view of the temptations is that represent our desire to magically force the world to our will, to be the center of something spectacular, and to have power over all who would thwart us.
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Chris Kelly
– March 6, 2011
Text: Matthew 17:1-9 (Transfiguration)
Life has its ups and downs.
On the upside is upbeat. Things are looking up. It’s uplifting because we’re flying high. Up is where the penthouses are and the desks of the big-shots. Upgraded.
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Chris Kelly
– February 27, 2011
Text: Matthew 6:24-34
Other texts: Psalm 131
The season of Lent is nearly upon us. Ash Wednesday is ten days away. On that day we are reminded of our humble origins in the dust of the earth, given life breathed into us by God. It is a day of humility that begins a season of humility.
Read more on Pulled This Way and That Way…
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Chris Kelly
– February 20, 2011
Text: Matthew 5:38-48
Preacher: Katie Wilson, vicar at Faith.
Thank you all for having me here. Thank you All for being here.
Today I would like to speak about equality, and inclusivity, and what those words mean to me in light of our gospel reading: to “give to everyone” and to “Love your enemies.”
Read more on Open Hands…
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Chris Kelly
– February 13, 2011
Text: Deuteronomy 30:15-20
I set before you life and death, says Moses, blessings and curses. Choose life.
I should carry those words of Moses on a card in my wallet. I should have them as my screen saver. I should tattoo them on my arm. At some of the most important decisions of my life, these words have been a guide, a prod, a test of motivation and validity. They are like the room with two doors. Which door to take? Which way is life, life-giving, listens to life calling? Which way is death, life-draining, listens to fear?
Read more on Getting in the Way of Life…
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Chris Kelly
– February 6, 2011
Text: Psalm 112
Other texts: Isaiah 58:1-12
A couple of weeks ago social observer David Brooks wrote about happiness. Happiness has been in the news a lot these days. It is trendy to talk about happiness. This is new. Though happiness may have been a goal for people, it was not considered polite to talk about it. Maybe people thought that happiness was not a worthy pursuit. Too self-centered sounding, maybe. Or maybe happiness was supposed to be a side effect of something else: accomplishment, say, or wealth, or a good marriage.
Read more on A Practical Guide to Happiness…
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Chris Kelly
– January 24, 2011
Text: Matthew 4:12-23
Off the coast of Scotland is the small island of Iona. It has been known for centuries as a holy place. The monastery which dominates the landscape of Iona was founded in the year 563 by Saint Columba, who was responsible for the spread of Christianity throughout Scotland. On the grounds of Iona Abbey are buried the remains of Duncan, the king of Scotland made famous by Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
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