Sermon Audio 1/19/2014

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

2nd Sunday after Epiphany, Lectionary Year A

John 1:29-42

In this season after Epiphany our lectionary stories reveal who Jesus is. Today we hear John the Baptist proclaim that Jesus is the Lamb of God. For those of us who've hung around church long enough, this title is familiar - we sing it almost every Sunday! - and we can fool ourselves into assuming we know what it says about Jesus. As usual, however, God has some surprises in store for us, even in this common name for Jesus.

John 1:29-42

²⁹The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ³¹I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³²And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” ³⁵The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!”
³⁷The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” ³⁹He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. ⁴⁰One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). ⁴²He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

Sermon Audio 1/12/2014

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

Baptism of Our Lord, Lectionary Year A

Matthew 3:13-17

Every year we celebrate Jesus' baptism by John at the Jordan River because we need to hear anew that God's words for Jesus are for us also: we are beloved children of God. To make this point, I used one of my one-year-old son's favorite books, Water, Come Down! by Walter Wangerin Jr. as the basis for the entire sermon, and afterwards everyone came to the font to remember God's promise to them baptism.

Though the book plus the ritual took longer than I had planned, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and the book is rocketing to the top of the congregation's best-seller list (or it would if such a list existed). In fact, I've decided that for the rest of this season after Epiphany we will begin worship with a Thanksgiving for Baptism based on the book's text. Micah even found a copy of the book in our church library! Really, he was toddling around while I was just sitting in a meeting in that room, and all of a sudden he plopped the book onto my lap and wanted to read. I had no idea we had a copy, but it's available if folks want a closer look. 

Sermon Audio 1/5/2014

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

2nd Sunday after Christmas, Lectionary Year A

John 1:1-18

On this Sunday of Twelfth Night, I had the privilege of sharing my sermon with Rev. Sarah Friesen-Carper, the North/West Lower Michigan Synod of the ELCA's Assistant to the Bishop for Congregational and Leadership Excellence, and also my amazing wife. We talked about Epiphany traditions. Some of these traditions may seem at first to be quaint or silly, but if you understand them, they can show forth the good news about God's love in Jesus Christ. Did you know the song The Twelve Days of Christmas was secretly an illegal Catholic catechetical text? Also, check out my impassioned plea for more worship outdoors around a fire at night.

Sermon Audio 12/24/2013

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

Nativity of Our Lord - Christmas Eve A

Luke 2:1-20

Every year we gather on Christmas Eve to celebrate the birth of Jesus, so you'd think we'd have it all figured out by now, but I have a few questions: What, specifically, is the "good news of great joy for all the people?" Why does the answer to that question matter so much to me, personally? Why have we been doing yoga on Wednesdays for the past few weeks and calling it worship? What does "faith in God" even mean? You know, it's Christmas eve, so I figured I should just keep it light and simple, a goal at which I seem to have pretty obviously failed. Oh well. It turns out the birth of Jesus brings me back to the very foundations of my faith.

I'm usually pretty skeptical of Christmas Eve sermons, but I admit I'm really quite proud of this one, and I hope you'll check it out.

Sermon Audio 12/22/2013

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Lectionary Year A

Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew's version of the birth of Jesus is light on details. Jesus was a normal-enough baby, born to a normal-enough family, and somehow God uses these utterly common people - Mary and Joseph - to save the world.

Sermon Audio 12/8/2013

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

Second Sunday of Advent, Lectionary Year A

Isaiah 11:1-10
 

11A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; 4but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. 6The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 9They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

10On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

"A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." The story of the life of Christian faith is the story of death paradoxically leading to new life. From an old pizza pan to a revered world leader to Jesus himself, death leads to new life.

Sermon Audio 12/15/2013

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

Third Sunday of Advent, Lectionary Year A

Matthew 11:2-11

²When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples ³and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” ⁴Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. ⁶And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
⁷As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. ⁹What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ ¹¹Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 

John the Baptist asks Jesus an impatient question: "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" But does John know what he is waiting for? Do we?