Author: Chris Kelly
Chris Kelly
– October 7, 2012
Text: Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12
God speaks.
God speaks to us. Long ago God spoke through the prophets. In many ways and various ways, says the writer of the book of Hebrews. Now God speaks to us in an additional way. God’s words are more than just information. The power of the words of God created the universe: God said … and it was. Hebrews reminds us of the power of God’s word in the opening sentence. Three things—God’s words at creation of the universe, God’s words as the creator, guide, and comforter of Israel, and God’s words conveyed to us by God’s son—are all part of one thing. The thing is the story of the world.
Read more on Interpreting Jesus Differently…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– September 16, 2012
Text: Mark 8:27-38
Here we are at Caesarea Philippi, on the border, an outpost of the Roman empire and the northern limit of the territory of Israel. Here we are, almost exactly in the center of Mark’s Gospel, at the hinge between Jesus’ healing ministry and his journey to death on the cross. We are at the cusp in this tragic story. Here we are, at a moment when the hint of the divinity of Jesus is strong and the humanity of Jesus is equally strong. Here we are, where the disciples learn of their mission and their fate, and must choose it or not.
Read more on At the Border…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– September 9, 2012
Text: James 2:1-17
Faith, not works. This is the motto of Protestant Christianity and especially of the Lutheran brand. Martin Luther popularized it. He took a remark made by Paul to the Romans specifically regarding Jewish and pagan Christians and expanded it. He took what was in many ways a political analysis and transformed it into a way of thinking about our personal relationship with God. The fruits of this were many, including the Reformation. And also a welcome emphasis on God’s grace and unconditional love for each person, no matter what.
Read more on Good Work…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– August 26, 2012
Text: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Other texts: John 6:51-66
[Last week and this week we heard the same passage from the Gospel of John. Today’s remarks carry on from last week’s.
Last week we heard that Martin Luther considered Holy Communion to be daily sustenance in the fight against evil. We talked then mostly about the sustenance part, and how the body and blood of Christ feeds a hunger that we all share. This week, we’ll talk more about the daily part. Last week we talked about how the followers of Jesus were put off by what he said, and many left. This week, we’ll talk more about those who remained.]
Read more on Staying and Going…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– August 19, 2012
Text: John 6:51-69
There is a magical realism in the Gospel of John. It makes John both the most-loved and the least-liked of the four Gospels. Things happen in this Gospel that happen nowhere else. The most magical stories of Jesus are in John. The conversion of water to wine. The raising of his friend Lazarus from the dead. These are works of divinity. But also in John, Jesus is the most earthy and human. He is annoyed at his mother at the wedding at Cana, and he weeps before the tomb of Lazarus. John is full of seemingly opposing pairs: divine and human, light and dark, body and spirit, concrete and figurative.
Read more on Not As Difficult…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– August 12, 2012
Text: Ephesians 4:25–5:2
As we begin the prayer of great thanksgiving every Sunday, we recite a portion called the preface. The preface varies with the season, but it always starts with our proclaiming that it is our duty and our joy to praise and thank God. This phrase, “our duty and our joy,” was a new addition, added in 2006 when the current hymnal was published. Before that, we said “it is salutary,” a word that means “of some benefit,” which was less specific and also less edgy.
Read more on Duty and Joy…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– July 29, 2012
Text: Ephesians 3:14-21, John 6:1-21
Robert Pirsig in his classic book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance coins the term “gumption trap.” This is where you find yourself when you have seemingly exhausted all the ways to accomplish what you wanted to, and none have worked. You try the same thing over and over. Your thoughts are in a cul-de-sac. Your imagination is dead and but your frustration is lively. You have run out of gumption. He speaks about this when describing how to replace the bearings in his motorcycle engine. But the same thing applies to global problems, like economies in trouble, populations paralyzed by fear, widespread hunger and wealth inequity; local problems like companies (or churches) on the decline; personal problems relationships on the skids. Hard problems.
Read more on More Than We Thought…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– July 22, 2012
Text: Psalm 23
Other texts: 2 Sam 7:1-14a, Mark 6:30-34
There is a kind of restlessness in king David that makes him want to put God in a little house.
God objects. In all the years I’ve known you, God says to king David—and known the leaders who have come before you—have I ever asked you to build me a house? I have not lived in a house since the olden times in Egypt (and before that).
Read more on To Lead is to Have Compassion…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– July 8, 2012
Text: Mark 6:1-13
Other texts: Ezekiel 2:1-5
We are advised to set clear, measurable, and attainable goals. How else, we are asked, are we going to know whether we have accomplished what we set out to do? How do you know whether you have arrived if you do not know your destination? How can you plot the best path to get there? It is important to be effective and efficient, essential elements of productivity. If we set good goals, we say, we can mark and judge our actions, know when to cut our losses if necessary, quit while ahead, or optimize assets. This is good process for getting some kinds of things done.
Read more on Going without Honor…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– July 1, 2012
Text: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Once upon a time there was a governor of Massachusetts who was enjoying a photo op at the Ashmont MBTA station. I’m not sure what the occasion was. Perhaps the opening of the renovated T station there.
Read more on Binding and Loosing…
Read More
