The question about how to “love your neighbour” is not about itemizing and classifying who qualifies as worthy of love. Loving our neighbour is as much about reflecting on our own biases, prejudices and priorities that show up when we are faced with someone who is suffering. Sermon preached during the… Continue reading
I am coming to a different kind of appreciation about the importance of identifying the ground on which you live and work. It’s about identity. It’s about tradition. It’s about community. It’s about justice and reconciliation. It’s about holding the past and the present together. This reflection was shared at the 2023 Florida/Bahamas Synod Synodical… Continue reading
This is who and what you are. You are the light. Being a light is not action you take to deserve or prove your rightness before God. Becoming a light is action God takes. You are the light of the world. Some days you may feel like it, most days you probably don’t. But it’s still… Continue reading
This reflection was prepared for Trinity Lutheran Church in Pembroke Pines, FL, in October, 2020. A creative rendering of what the biblical character Sarah might have written in her journal, or as an email to a friend. Sarah reflects on how to support a vision she couldn’t see, and the… Continue reading
Sermon—Oct. 30, 2022 (Epiphany Lutheran Church, Winnipeg, Manitoba)John 8:31-36; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Romans 3:19-28 Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus. Amen. When was the last time you got to answer the question “how did you get here?” If you’ve moved to a new city, house or country, you… Continue reading
Sermon—March 11, 2018 Numbers 21:4-9Ephesians 2:1-10John 3:14-21 Today’s gospel reading begins with a reference to an obscure story from Numbers that is probably not in many children’s Bibles, and doesn’t have a fun chorus with cheesy hand-motions that go with it. It’s just…odd. The Israelites are in the wilderness on… Continue reading
Sermon for St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Dunedin, FLMay 28, 2017John 17:1-11, Acts 1:6-14 Our readings today speak to the transition from the season of Easter to the season of Pentecost. For the last 6 weeks, we have been basking in the light of the resurrected Christ, celebrating the truth that… Continue reading
Pentecost 12cAug. 28, 2022 Luke 14:1, 7-14 Prepared for Family Camp weekend at Luther Village. It’s a common feature in coming of age movies–the school cafeteria. A new kid walks in and doesn’t know where to sit. An ‘unpopular kid is sitting at a table and a group of ‘popular’… Continue reading
A sermon based on Mark 10:35-45, Oct. 17, 2021 If your home was anything like mine, there was more than one sibling spat about who got to sit where. I grew up with brothers, and we would regularly compete for the best seats at the table, in the car, or even… Continue reading
23rd Sunday after Pentecost Luke 21:5-19, Malachi 4:1-2a, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 What is it about end-of-the-world stories that is so captivating to us? Whether it is the children’s story, Chicken Little, where a chicken runs through the kingdom yelling “the sky is falling, the sky is falling!” or the more… Continue reading