Sermons
Sermons are part of a conversation between the preacher and the congregation.
You can read most of the sermons preached at Faith in the past few years here. This archive is a blog, which is duplicated on Blogger. You may add comments here or in the blog if you wish.
If you would like to see the readings planned for the next few weeks, click here.
Jesus Christ, God Incarnate
December 30, 2007
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Text: Hebrews 2:10-18
After the prayers of the people today in the middle of worship, we will say “Into your hands, God of grace, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy, through Jesus Christ, God incarnate.” That last little bit is a somewhat unusual, non-standard. In the rule books, this prayer does not end with “God incarnate.” In the books, it ends with “Jesus Christ,
Light Before Christmas
December 23, 2007
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Text: Matthew 1:18-25
Other texts: Isaiah 7:10-16
As signs go, it was not much.
A child born of a young woman. As if that didn’t happen every day. A son, too. Odds of that happening were what: one out of two? Not exactly improbable. And his name was Immanuel.
Ahaz, king of Judah, was not looking for a sign. So he said. I’m not going to ask for any old sign, so said Ahaz. I would not ask for a
Peace in the Kingdom
December 9, 2007
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Text: Matthew 3:1-12
Other texts: Isaiah 11:1-8
There is a measuring device out on the street next to the church, down on Tremont Street. The device is called the Discontent-O-Meter. It measures anxiety. It measures how worried people are about the state of the world. It works through trash. If there are hardly any scratch tickets, empty pints, or styrofoam coffee cups in the gutter or on the sidewalk,
Separation. Reconciliation.
December 2, 2007
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Text: Matthew 24:36-44
Other texts: Romans 13:11-14
Separation. Reconciliation.
Separation and reconciliation. They make the world go ‘round. Literally. Our planet longs to move on in a straight line, free from the sun. Without the sun, that’s just what it would do. But the sun pulls it back, every second the sun pulls the earth away from its headstrong straight-ahead path, and therefore the
Led into the Kingdom by a Shepherd
November 25, 2007
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Text: Luke 23:33-43
Other texts: Jeremiah 23:1-6
How is it that in this world today slavery still flourishes, with around twenty million people, mostly women, held as slaves?
How is it that in this world wars still rage, people live in terror, ethnic populations eliminated, people tortured? How is it in this world that people still are left to starve, lack clean water, are infested with parasites?
Adiaphora
November 11, 2007
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Text: Luke 20:27-38
On a scale from the most radical and strange to the most reactionary and predictable, worship at Faith is pretty much to the right, to the traditional. We follow a predetermined order from a Lutheran guide to worship, we pick songs from a Lutheran hymnal, we confess our sins in a Lutheran confession. If you were visiting here from most of the other Lutheran churches in the world,
Reformed What?
October 28, 2007
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Text: Romans 3:19-28
Other texts: Jeremiah 31:31-24, John 8:31-36
This Wednesday is Reformation Day. It is the 490th anniversary of the day that a young Catholic priest named Martin Luther was said to have nailed a list of 95 arguments, his 95 Theses, or propositions, to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. The event has become the symbol of the start of the the Reformation, a major change
On Praying
October 21, 2007
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Text: Luke 18:1-8
It is not always clear what Jesus means to say when he tells a parable. But it sure is clear in this one that we just heard. This parable is about prayer.
You might hear other things in the parable. It might be about justice, and it might be about persistence in general. But to Luke, who is telling a story about Jesus telling a story, it is about prayer. Jesus told them a parable,
All Were Healed
October 14, 2007
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Text: Luke 17:11-19
Martin Luther was a young catholic priest. He worked hard at being good. But he was tormented by his conviction that he would never be worthy of God. He was, after all, only human, just a sinner, an imperfect being. Yet he felt that scripture was calling him to be better, better even than anyone could ever be. He felt that scripture was condemning him.
He wrote at the time: I hated
Come All You People
October 7, 2007
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Text: 2 Timothy 1:1-14
Other texts: Luke 17:5
Note: This is a short homily introducing a special combined worship of three churches that make up the Faith community.
I am grateful, my brothers and sisters, when I think of you.
So writes the author of the 2nd Letter to Timothy. Grateful for all the new followers of Jesus, grateful for the churches in different parts of the land, grateful that God had
Dishonest Wealth and the Children of Light
September 30, 2007
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Text: Luke 16:1-13
The scripture passages we hear in the readings each week are chosen by a committee. A big committee, with representatives from the many denominations that use what is called the Revised Common Lectionary. The lectionary is a list of selections from the Old and New Testaments—the Hebrew and Greek portions of the Bible—and the psalms. The lectionary lists readings for three years,
Forgetful God
September 16, 2007
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Text: Luke 15:1-10
Other texts: Exodus 32:7-14, Psalm 51 Humans are designed to forget. Unlike in some models of the mind, our brains are not mechanical or electronic machines. We notice some things but not others. We remember some things for years, others for just moments. Mostly, though, all our memories fade. Until recently, that is. Now we have a huge repository of information, the global web,
Choose Life
September 9, 2007
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Text: Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Other texts: Luke 14:26
I set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you may live.The Israelites sit on the border of the land of Canaan. They sit like kids on a seawall, contemplating the ocean, side by side, imagining their future. They have been traveling forty years to get to this place and this time to take the land they have been promised
Don't Forget, My Love
September 2, 2007
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Text: Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Why be good? Why be good? And why do good? Why let that guy nose into your lane from his driveway? Maybe he’ll let someone else do the same some day, but probably not. He’s clearly a jerk. Why pick up trash that someone else dropped? Why listen to your crabby friend complain once again? Why risk your job to defend a colleague? Why help those who are sick and poor? Why
Sabbath Rest, Sabbath Power
August 26, 2007
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Text: Luke 13:10–17
Other texts: Isaiah 58:9b–14 Last week, a man named Zhang Shuhong, a co-owner and manager of a small company in China killed himself on the third floor of his factory. He did so, people guess, because his was one of the companies that supplied toys to Mattel that were painted with paint that had lead in its pigment, which he had purchased from another company. The man committed
Dreaming
August 19, 2007
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Text: Jeremiah 23:23-29
Other texts: Luke 12:49-56 Fantasy is great. In the Harry Potter books, people transport themselves instantaneously, which is a lot better than flying commercial airlines or driving from here to Chicago. Harry and his friends have a magical tent in which are bunk beds, a bathroom and kitchen, and a big soft armchair, which is a lot better than camping in the rain in the White
Barns and Brains
August 5, 2007
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Text: Luke 12:13-21In its literal meaning “productivity” is making product. It is an economic measure. Increased productivity means that workers in a factory can produce more product now with the same amount of effort that they used to expend. Or produce the same product for less effort. Not wanting to be too industrial, we’ve expanded the definition of productivity to mean useful or effective.
Great Prayer
July 29, 2007
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Text: Luke 11:1-13
Other texts: Genesis 18:20-32
You haven’t lived until you have watched a bunch of children dancing and gesturing and singing as loud as they can: G R E A T B — I B L E. Great Bible Reef. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen an equal number of adults, so called, doing the same thing, all singing and waving their arms. Singing: We’re gonna go where the word is, And the word
Resurrection Life
July 22, 2007
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Text: John 20.1-2, 11-18Other texts: Ruth, Exodus The motto of some one of our partner churches is “reformed and always reforming.” This is to make clear that though the church came out of the Reformation in the 1500s, God continues to work in the life of the church today and every day. God’s ongoing presence in the life of the institution of the church is a good thing to consider from time to
What Neighbor Am I?
July 15, 2007
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Text: Luke 10:25-47
Other texts: Deuteronomy 30:9-14When we pray to do God’s will, our prayer contains two parts. One part is that may have the courage, focus, and compassion to do God’s will. That is, that we are able enough. The other part is that we may know what God’s will is, that we may know what God wants. That is, that we have enough knowledge. Often, both parts are wanting. The Bible
Holy Guests
July 8, 2007
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Text: Luke 10:1-11 Holy guests. That’s what the seventy apostles were, the ones whom Jesus sent out into the world. At their best, that is what missionaries are. Holy guests. When we gather at Faith, we are hosts. When people come to worship here for the first time, they are guests. We have cards labeled “Guest” in the pews as one way for guests to introduce themselves. After you have been here
Getting What We Most Desire
July 1, 2007
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Text: Galatians 5:1, 13-25
July 1, 2007 How will we get what we most desire? The letter of Paul to the Galatians is famous as a treatise on the freedom of a Christian. But for Paul, at least here, freedom does not mean autonomy, does not mean independence. Autonomy means self-law. Free to do what I want, go where I want, say what I want, have what I want. Within the constraint that I don’t hurt anyone
Expect Much of God
June 10, 2007
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Text: Luke 7:11-17
Other texts: 1 Kings 17:17-24
June 10, 2006
Bishop Dr. Munib Younan is the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Lands. He spoke this past Friday to the assembly of the New England Synod, a once-a-year gathering of lay people and clergy. He was the keynote speaker. The churches that he shepherds are some of the very few Christian churches left in Palestine
Trinity: The Nickname of God
June 3, 2007
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June 3, 2007 Is it possible to love the Trinity? Is it possible to be loved by the Trinity? Not if the Trinity is an organization, an institution, even a team. Not if the Trinity is an association of three persons, like a small board of directors or a special task force. Who can love an organization, who can love a task force? How in the world would an association, a board of directors, love us? Today
Speaking of Vision
May 27, 2007
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Text: Acts 2:1-21
May 27, 2007 Where are we going? What are we going to do? Just because our lives are full of uncertainty does not mean we like to be adrift, like dust particles in the sun. We do not want to be aimless. Without something to point at, without a direction. We do not want to wake up years from now and wonder how we ever got here, this spot in life that we never imagined. We do want
Succession Ascension
May 20, 2007
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Text: Acts 1:1-11
May 20, 2007 Welcome to Part 2 of “Jesus and His Ministry,” brought to you by Luke the Evangelist. In the last episode, we saw Jesus returning to the disciples after his tragic execution. He spent forty days with them, showing that he had been raised from the dead, talking to them, eating with them, reminding them that it was he who had gathered them, and giving them each a new
Peace is not doing nothing
May 13, 2007
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Text: John 14:23-29
May 13, 2006 If we so much want peace, why don’t we have peace? No one wants war, we say. If no one wants war, why do we constantly go to war? Why have humans warred for at least 4000 years straight? The sentence really goes like this: “No one wants war, but …” “No one wants war, but we have to do something.” War is doing something. Peace, it seems like, is doing nothing.
The Big Deal
May 6, 2007
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Text: Acts 11:1-18
Other texts: John 13:31-35, Revelation 21:1-6 It seems to be a big deal. This vision of Peter’s seems to be a big deal, because it appears twice in the book of Acts, once in chapter 10 and once, as we just heard it, in chapter 11. Peter had been hanging around with gentiles, people who were not Jews. He had been hanging around with them and eating with them. The Christian Jews
Transformed Thomas
April 15, 2007
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Text: John 20:19-31
Easter: April 15, 2007 Preacher: Vicar Anna Rudberg
It seems to me that Thomas has gotten pretty rough treatment through history. This passage in John has forever gotten him labeled as a man crazy about empirical proof, a man of shallow faith. His name has even come down through history as almost a caricature—Doubting Thomas—a name to describe the unimaginative one, the naysayer,
Gravy
April 8, 2007
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Text: Luke 24:1-11
Easter, April 8, 2007What do you supposed the other ten did that night? The ten out of eleven who dismissed the news of excited Mary Magdalene and Joanna and the Mary the mother of James, and some other women, too. The ten who were not Peter. Because Peter being Peter ran to the tomb to see for himself. But the other ten thought that Mary and Joanna and Mary were telling an idle
Our Guy Jesus
April 1, 2007
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Text: Luke 19:28-40
Other texts: Luke 22:14—23:56 It says in the instructions for today for pastors that “a long sermon might not be desirable.” I do, though, want to say a few words about why this Sunday has two names. But I’ll keep it short. Actually, I’ve made the same promise over the past few years, and each sermon comes out about the normal length. But this time, I really mean it.
Dream On
March 25, 2007
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Text: Psalm 126
March 25, 2007 Dream on. In your dreams. You live in a dream world.It is a cynical and scary time right now, and in times like this, dreams and dreamers are mocked. Yet we have to dream. The season of Lent is like a long freight train taking a slow curve on the plains of the Midwest. We carry a lot of baggage as we go into Lent. We start from one place—we have a history, an origin.
A Father and Two Sons
March 18, 2007
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Text: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
March 17, 2007 Introduction Today in the time reserved for the reading of the Gospel and the sermon we are going to do something a little different. We are going to mix the reading with a dramatic reflection of what’s happening in the story. We did this three years ago, and we are going to try it again today, because it seems to me that it puts the dynamic of the story
Seeking God
March 11, 2007
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Texts: Isaiah 55:1-8, Psalm 63March 11, 2007 The Bible looks like one big book. But it really is a library, a collection of stories told and then written over centuries, and finally assembled into one official version. The writings themselves hardly ever existed as complete works that some scholar could just copy down. Most of the source materials for the books of the Bible are small fragments, sometimes
Journey with a Hen
March 4, 2007
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March 4, 2007
Luke 13:31-35 Preacher: Vicar Anna Rudberg
Two weeks ago Pastor Tim Seitz led us in a wonderful reflection about the Transfiguration and the importance that the actual journey--a difficult mountain hike---played in the impact of that story. Last summer I had a chance to experience that first hand when I visited Ostrog Monastery in Montenegro. I knew the monastery to be a holy place for
Down in the Dust
February 18, 2007
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Text: Luke 9:23-36
February 22, 2004 [Editor's note: Pastor Stein did not preach this week. This is a sermon on the same Gospel passage, preached in 2004.]
In the classic movie Buckaroo Bonzai, Peter Weller plays the title character. Buckaroo is a surgeon, a physicist, a comic book hero, and a rock star. Actor Lewis Smith plays his partner, lieutenant, and fellow musician. His name is Perfect Tommy.
There Are Three Kinds of People in the World
February 11, 2007
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Text: Luke 6:17-27February 11, 2007 There are two kinds of people in the world. There are those who are poor, and those who are rich. There are those who are hungry, and those who are full. There are those who weep, and those who laugh. Is that right? Is that what Jesus is saying here? Are there poor hungry weepers and rich stuffed laughers? In the time when Jesus was healing and preaching, there
Lord of the Dance
February 4, 2007
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Text: Luke 5:1-11
February 4, 2007
“They left everything.” That’s what Luke says. In the Gospel of Mark, from which Luke borrows freely, it says “immediately they left their nets and followed him.” It amounts to the same thing. Immediate and total change of life in a single instant. Simon (we know him better as Peter, after Jesus renames him)—Peter and James and John leave behind all that
Use Your Words
January 28, 2007
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Text: Jeremiah 1:1-10
January 28, 2006 Words matter. They are not just ways to label the world. They influence how we see the world. What categories we have for things. How we perceive things, how we perceive time. People—like advertisers or politicians—try to put words in our brains so that we will see the world and our place in it in a particular way. When we see things, we attach them to categories
Good News How
January 21, 2007
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Text: Luke 4:14-21
January 21, 2006 Jesus came bringing good news. But not everyone agreed the news was good. This speech of Jesus we just heard are the first words of his ministry, following immediately after his baptism and his temptation in the desert. As a reader in the synagogue, he is given or chooses a passage from the prophet Isaiah. It is a song of hope and trust and change for the better
Praising Mediocrity
January 14, 2007
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Text: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
January 14, 2007 Let's hear it for mediocrity. Let us celebrate just getting by. Let us commend doing less than your best. Let us extol what in the college I went to they called “gentleman's Cs.” Let us praise doing okay, satisfactory, good enough. If this makes you squeamish, you are in the right culture and the right time. “Be all you can be” is not just an advertising