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Sermon - Advent Midweek 3, 2024

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Adoration of the Shepherds , Gerard von Honthorst, 1622 December is a very dark month here in Minnesota. December 21st was the darkest day of the year and now the days are growing longer and the sun is shining longer and longer. It’s incredible that Christmas falls at this time of year when the days are so short and the darkness seems overpowering. The date of Easter was chosen before the date of Christmas, since we do know approximately when Jesus was crucified and risen. The date for Christmas was chosen based upon Easter, because it has been a long standing tradition that saints die on the day of their conception. Thus, if Jesus was crucified and conceived on March 25th, nine months later is December 25th, which would be His birth. Perhaps what’s most interesting is that others have attempted to date Jesus’ birth, and typically they conclude that He was very likely born the end of December! Really, this is something worthy of marvel, that the Lord chose such a birth and we would cel...
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Sermon - Advent 2, 2024 - Luke 3:1-20

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The Preaching of St John the Baptist , Giovanni Battista Gaulli, circa 1690 The Word Gathers the Church in the Wilderness The world apart from Christ is a barren desert The wilderness is prepared through repentance Christ is the fruitful vine growing in the desert into whom we are grafted This world, apart from Christ, is a barren, fruitless, wilderness; a desert if you will. In a way however, Satan imposes a mirage in front of you, suggesting that this world is able to satisfy your every desire. Christianity tears down that illusion, revealing the ugly truth hidden behind the mirage, in order to transform this barren landscape into a fruitful field. Christianity reveals the sin sickness infecting our souls, in order to sow God’s Word and reap a bountiful harvest of faith. So it is that the Word gathers the church in the wilderness. This is stunningly illustrated in the book of Exodus. While the Israelites were in Egypt they were slaves to the Egyptians, although they were surrounded b...
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Sermon - Advent Midweek 1, 2024

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Mosaic of Ambrose in the church in Milan, made while Ambrose was still living Make here Your home History of Ambrose The Son of God chose to come to man in a humble virgin birth Many do not receive Him Let us receive Him Our theme hymn for Advent this year is a hymn by Ambrose of Milan. If you picked up one of the little Feasting and Fasting booklets I put together, you may have read a little about Ambrose already. I would like, however, to briefly introduce you to Ambrose since I’ve found that reflecting on the stories of our greatest hymns can make singing the hymn that much richer. Ambrose grew up an aristocrat, trained in government and rhetoric, and midlife became officially involved in the government like his father. Ambrose was a catechumen of Christianity, but hadn’t been baptized. Nevertheless, when the city of Milan was choosing their next bishop, the debate became quite heated, and Ambrose had to attend the assembly in an attempt to quiet them down. In the midst of that unr...
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Sermon - Proper 29, Year B, 2024 - Mark 13:24-37

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The Last Judgment , Leandro Bassano, circa 1600 Be on guard and stay awake, for Christ is coming soon. The time of Christ’s return is unknown, yet according to the signs it is imminent. The warning is that we would remain ready, lest He suddenly return and find us asleep. Let’s take stock, and see how we’ve done, and where we have room to improve. Later today we have the end of the year voters’ meeting, where we look back on the past year and take stock of how it’s gone, and look ahead to the next to prepare ourselves. This end of the year taking stock is a common thing to do in many facets of life. If you run a business you may spend time reviewing your successes and failures, so that going forward you may be able to turn a larger profit. At home you might make plans for maintenance or upgrades, so that your home might run more smoothly. In the church we Christians do this as well, but not just at a voters’ meeting which deals primarily with transient business, but personally we refle...
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Sermon - Proper 27, 2024 - Year B - Mark 12:38-44

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The Widow's Mite , Joao Zeferino da Costa, 1876 The Lord blesses the lowly The Lord condemns the vainglorious The Lord praises those who submit themselves to God The Lord looks upon the lowly and supplies all of their needs How do you know success when you see it? Typically we perceive success when we see grand displays of wealth. So the president or governor shows up in a big shiny expensive vehicle with a bunch of people and a really sharp looking suit. The businessman owns multiple properties, lake houses, big houses, manicured lawns, hired help, fancy cars, eats at expensive restaurants, wears upper class name brand and designer clothes. Successful people speak eloquently and everyone laughs at their jokes. Everyone wants to be liked by the successful person in order to get invited to their parties. Typically successful people create a following, and people cling to their coattails, hoping to benefit from their successes. Yet the Psalmist sings: “ Put not your trust in princes,...
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Sermon - Proper 24, 2024 - Mark 10:23-31

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Saint John on Patmos , Limbourg Brothers, 1416  We accept our lot now, and look forward to eternal life in the age to come Wealth doesn’t help us enter into the kingdom of God We may suffer much for the sake of Christ and the Gospel Whether much or little in this life, regardless of the toil and persecution, we enjoy the days given us and anticipate the reward awaiting us The way life often works today is that if you want something you can have it, and it's just a matter of paying the right price. In some ways this feels liberating, because it makes you feel like you can have whatever you want, so long as you can afford it. In other ways it feels very depressing, since it means that if you can’t afford the things you want they remain just out of your reach. But this is not the way that it works with eternal things; it’s not a matter of affording them, instead it’s a matter of humbly receiving them. Regardless of how much or little we have, we are to accept our lot now, and look for...
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