Down by the riverside I laid my burdens down and I'm travelin' light
Posted in Sermon Notes on May 8th, 2022
Vignettes of Hope: New Life Acts 9:36-43, NRSV Reflections Standing in line, marking time Waiting for the welfare dime ‘Cause they can’t buy a job The man in the silk suit hurries by As he catches the poor old ladies’ eyes Just for fun he says, “get a job” That’s just the way it is […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on May 1st, 2022
Vignettes of Hope: New Zeal by Joshua Jalandoon Acts 9:1-19a, NRSV Reflections There’s another reason why you should love your enemies, and that is because hate distorts the personality of the hater. We usually think of what hate does for the individual hated or the individuals hated or the groups hated. But it is even […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Apr 24th, 2022
Vignettes of Hope: A New Way of Seeing Luke 19:28-40, NRSV Reflections Jesus authenticates his resurrection through showing his apostles the physical signs of his suffering. And that is the threat of moral authority people like Jesus pose: a firsthand experience with imperial brutality and a willingness to talk about it. “This is what happened […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Apr 10th, 2022
Full to the Brim: Even The Stones Cry Out Luke 19:28-40, NRSV Reflections We people are the likes of which God came to save. God did not become human and dwell among us as Jesus to save only an improved, doesn’t make the wrong choices kind of people. There is no improved version of humanity […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Apr 3rd, 2022
Full to the Brim: Brazen Acts of Beauty, by Emily Hansen Curran John 12:1-8, NRSV Reflections “absolutely unmixed attention is prayer.” — Simone Weil We are often taught that this world is not our home, that it is a step before returning God, that we might not need to care so much about what we […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Mar 27th, 2022
Full to the Brim: Prodigal Grace by Dr. Paula Williams Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32, NRSV Reflections This is the portrayal of God, whose goodness, love, forgiveness, care, joy and compassion have no limits at all. Jesus presents God’s generosity by using all the imagery that his culture provides, while constantly transforming it. — Henri Nouwen, , […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Mar 20th, 2022
Full to the Brim: You are Worthy Luke 13:1-9, NRSV Reflections Sometimes I wish I was the fig tree. No fruit here, just soaking up the sun, growing roots, turning green, stretching out my branches until I can hug the horizon. Sometimes I wish I was the fig tree, because she doesn’t produce, and she’s […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Mar 20th, 2022
Full to the Brim: Under God’s Wing Luke 13:31-35, NRSV Reflections To be a Mother is to weep over the fighting and exclusions and wounds your children inflict on one another; To long for reconciliation and brotherly love and—when all is said and done— To gather all parties, the offender and the offended, into the […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Mar 6th, 2022
Full to the Brim: Even in the Desert Luke 4:1-13, NRSV Reflections Is everything holy? I learn that when the upper limb of a cottonwood tree is cut crosswise, the grain reveals a perfect five-pointed star. The star is understood as a sign of the Great Spirit’s presence and the tree’s holy nature. Even the […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Jul 25th, 2021
Tell It Slant – Cultivating a Generous Life Matthew 25:14-30, NRSV Reflections Dear God, I am so afraid to open my clenched fists! Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to? Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands? Please help me to gradually open my […]
Traveling Light Relay
Down by the riverside I laid my burdens down and I'm travelin' light