August 2016 Archives

Humility is what God wants in us in order to get to know God better. It's not humiliation.

 This sermon is quite a bit different from how it was written, therefore, please listen to the sermon rather than read it.  The sermon notes which are included for convenience.  

Sermon delivered at Lutheran Church of the Cross in Berkeley. 

August 28 - 14th Sunday after Pentecost

"Humility and Humiliation".  Text is from Luke 14:1, 7-14

Click here for sermon audio  

Good morning to you my sisters and brothers, saints and sinners, disciples of Christ and children of God.

As Jesus travels to Jerusalem, he dines at the home of a Pharisee, someone who has a position of power in the community. And as typical of his journeys, he is under tremendous scrutiny here. People are looking for him to either say something to set off a storm and revolution, or make a serious misstep and give those who would stop the tide of change in its tracks. And what Jesus offers is something which initially seems to do with little more than manners. 

While he is dining, he notices something interesting, in that as guests arrive, they volley for a place of honor, at left or right of the host.  Jesus uses this as a teaching opportunity by means of a parable of a wedding banquet. It seems like simple advice. Don't take the place of honor at a table lest the host come to you and say, look, friend, I really meant for this place to go to someone else, so do you mind moving down some? Rather, instead take a place at the opposite of the table, and then if the host should decide that you need to move to a higher position, you'll really feel special instead of embarrassed. 

Jesus does his work on whatever day it needs to be done, and on who it needs to be done to. Let us not be guided by legalism. God's work is God's work. 

This sermon is quite a bit different from how it was written, therefore, please listen to the sermon rather than read it.  The sermon notes which are included for convenience.  

Sermon delivered at Lutheran Church of the Cross in Berkeley. 

August 21 - 14th Sunday after Pentecost

"Kindling".  Text is from Luke 13:10-17

Click here for sermon audio 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, Lord, my rock and my redeemer.  Amen.Good morning to you my sisters and brothers, saints and sinners, disciples of Christ and children of God.

Good morning to you my sisters and brothers, saints and sinners, disciples of Christ and children of God.

I love to start my Sunday off right with a story of Jesus miracle making.

Here we have a woman, who was broken, bent over, for a full long eighteen years, who just happened to come into the synagogue while Jesus was there. Jesus, who was called to this woman, bade her to come to him. He spoke some words, telling her she was healed and he touched her. Immediately upon being touched, she stood up and raised her hands in the only way she could have possibly done at that moment. Freed from this bondage of illness, a life she'd become accustomed to and undoubtedly accepted as was her lot in life, never able to do more than look ahead of herself, she was now filled with such gratitude that she could do nothing except raise her hands to heaven and give all glory to the good God above.

Jesus came to bring fire to the earth. Is it kindled already? What does it mean to do the work of God in a society that rejects the work of Christ, even as it proclaims itself Christian?   (NOTE: I was on vacation the previous Sunday, so there is not a sermon)

This sermon is quite a bit different from how it was written, therefore, please listen to the sermon rather than read it.  The sermon notes which are included for convenience.  

Sermon delivered at Lutheran Church of the Cross in Berkeley. 

August 14 - 13th Sunday after Pentecost

"Kindling".  Text is from Luke 12:49-56

Click here for sermon audio 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, Lord, my rock and my redeemer.  Amen.Good morning to you my sisters and brothers, saints and sinners, disciples of Christ and children of God.

Jesus came to bring fire to the earth, and how he wishes the fire were already kindled. 

The gospel we just read is one of the ones that we have to sit down and really think about because it has somewhat troubling imagery and it does not seem, at first glance, to give us much to be comforted with. It is not talking about God's love for us, about how we must love one another or our neighbors. It does not describe the great sacrifice our Lord Jesus made for us. It's is giving us more information on division and strife, and puts an ominous tint on the coming times.