March 31, 2021 - Holy Wednesday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Continuing to look at Holy Week through the lens of sacrifice, tonight I want to reflect upon why it is that we use the word “sacrifice” when it comes to the Crucifixion. Yes, it was a death, and we speak of the death of Jesus, but it was more than a death. Jesus’ was a particular kind of death – one that was shameful and painful. This pain and shame were borne for us and so looking upon the horrors of this sacrifice shows us something about the love that stands behind it.

March 30, 2021 - Holy Tuesday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Tonight, we continue to consider Holy Week through the lens of sacrifice and we do so focusing on the phrase from Jesus found in St. John’s gospel, “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” I’m sure we all remember from our elementary school days how plants grow – a seed is planted, buried in soil, and then, usually within a few days, a green spout shoots up from the ground. This is basic botany, but Jesus uses it to make a deep theological point about sacrifice and new life.

March 29, 2021 - Holy Monday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Most of us are familiar with the liturgical text of the Agnus Dei: “O Lamb of God that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.” For the sermons of Holy Week, I will be reflecting on the idea that Jesus is the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world. This is the language of sacrifice, and so I’ll be reflecting upon sacrifice throughout this week, and I encourage and invite you to join me in this holy meditation on the theme of sacrifice.

March 28, 2021 - Palm Sunday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            If you knew that you had one week left to live, how would you begin that week? Jesus has been very clear with the disciples – he will go to Jerusalem and be killed. He knows how this week will end, which makes how he chooses to begin the week all the more interesting. He tells two of his disciples, “Hey, do something for me, go into that village over there and find a donkey that’s never been ridden, and bring it to me.” Probably not how I’d choose to begin my last week. And then Jesus adds, “And if anyone gives you any trouble about it, just tell them ‘The Lord needs it.’” In that explanation of “The Lord needs it” we have a lens through which to view not only Palm Sunday, not only Holy Week, but of our entire lives: the Lord has a purpose for this.

March 21, 2021 - The Fifth Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

Gracious God, grant us the gift of eternal life that comes from knowing you to be the only true God and in knowing Jesus Christ, our great high priest, whom you have sent to us. Amen.

            “We wish to see Jesus.” This is what some of the Greeks said when they came to Philip, one of Jesus’ disciples. They had likely heard of some of the signs that were pointing to the glory of Jesus and wanted to see him with their own eyes. Several pulpits across the world have that phrase engraved on the inside, as they are for the preacher to see – “We wish to see Jesus.” It’s a reminder to the preacher of what their task is. The sermon is not about saying things to build a fanbase, it is not the opportunity to weigh in with political or social commentary, it is not even to pursue other laudable motivations such as comforting, challenging, or teaching. No, the purpose of the sermon is to point to Jesus and let him do the challenging, comforting, or teaching. An effective sermon is not one that necessarily entertains or inspires, but rather a “good” sermon is one that allows us to see Jesus. You’ll have to forgive me when I get in the way of that – but that’s my goal, to show you Jesus.

March 14, 2021 - The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, be thou our guide while life shall last, and our eternal home ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

            Back in 2008, the 65-year-old Jim O’Neill went through what had to have been one of the scariest experiences we can imagine. There he was, at 5,000 feet in his Cessna flying from Scotland to a town just outside of London. He was an experienced pilot and all was going well on the relatively short flight. But about halfway through, something went wrong. No, it wasn’t engine failure or a problem with the instruments. The problem was Jim. He couldn’t see anything. Assuming that the bright sunlight had temporarily blinded him, he blinked his eyes a few times, fully expecting to again see the instrument panel when he opened his eyes. But nothing. Just darkness. Turns out that it wasn’t the sun that had blinded him, but a stroke had caused inflammation on his optic nerves to the point that he was blinded. So he feels around for the radio and sends out the call, “Mayday, mayday!”

March 7, 2021 - The Third Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

Ever-loving God, give us the grace to trust that in seeking first your Kingdom, all that we need will be given to us as well ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            The English scholar and Bishop NT Wright gives us a modern retelling of this episode from the second chapter of John that might give us a better sense of the scandal and shock of it all. Imagine that it’s the day of a really important test at school – maybe end-of-year testing or the SAT. Well, one particular student walks into the classroom and heads straight for the teacher’s desk and picks up the pile of exam booklets and begins ripping them apart and tossing them out the window. He then turns to the teacher and the principal who happened to be in the room for such an important test and says to them, “This whole thing is a disgrace and you ought to be ashamed of your behavior. This whole system is full of corruption!” Stunned, the principal says “And just who do you think you are to be telling us this?” The disruptive student says, “Look, you can fail me, expel me, it doesn’t matter. But I’m going to college and I’m going to study law and I’ll be back one day to put an end to corruption like this. Your system is done for.” Our student then slips out and marches on out of the school.