February 26, 2023
Lent 1A – George Yandell
What appears most senseless can often seem most meaningful of all. What of Matthew’s story that becomes the gospel for today? This story tells of an event that proves to be a major turning point in Jesus’ personal history. It is recorded in three of the gospels. What could seem more senseless than Jesus getting baptized? Theologians have argued about it for centuries. Who could need more vocational reassurance than Jesus, standing there dripping wet and hearing, “This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well-pleased?” How many of us have ever had that kind of certainty?
And what sense is there to this wilderness temptation thing? It’s a great and dramatic story out of which preachers get a lot of mileage, but for Jesus, how senseless can it get? Well, there’s this. Matthew says that it wasn’t Jesus’ idea after all, for as soon as he was baptized, “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” What sort of sense does that make? [The above two paragraphs adapted from Lane Denson’s sermon of 3/9/2003.]
The wilderness temptation is reminiscent of the trials of the wilderness wanderings of Israel, as well as the fasts of Moses and Elijah. During this time Jesus discerns the true meaning of the baptismal proclamation that he is the Son of God. Here the devil represents the role of the tempter rather than the personification of evil.
February 19, 2023
Last Sunday of Epiphany – Ted Hackett
This the second of a “mini-series” of Sermons on “Heaven, Hell, Death and Judgement”…
The so-called “Four Last Things” which all humans must face…
Last week we tackled two of them…Heaven and Hell…
I am sure all of you remember in exquisite detail all of that sermon…
I learned years and years ago not to ask students what I had said in the last lecture…
Because the blank looks caused me so much frustration…
It was not good for my self-esteem!
So, to review, I talked about Heaven and Hell…
I said that Hell was not Fire and Brimstone and Devils with pitchforks for eternity…
Hell was self-centered alienation which prevents people from being close with each other….from loving each other…
Prevents people from knowing and loving themselves…
Prevents us from knowing and loving God with all our hearts, souls and minds!
We were created to love…
So alienation is Hell!
But, I said, this Hellish alienation does not last forever …
God is infinitely patient…
God will last the selfish, unhappy sinner out.
Because…think about it…
One soul lost forever would mean God was not able to complete the divine creation…..
Like the Father of the Prodigal Son…
God would have lost a beloved child…Forever…
February 12, 2023
Epiphany 5A – Ted Hackett
Today is the 6th Sunday after Epiphany…
Believe it or not, Lent comes in two weeks…
And of course, Lent is a penitential season…
40 days in which we are counseled to
calm things down in our lives…
To do some looking at ourselves…
And ask questions about our lives.
Lent is a little like Advent…
Except that over the years Advent has been a season of what you might call : “Joy Creep”….
The wonderful warmth of Christmas…
Aided and abetted by commercial interests
Have made Advent part of Christmas.
We become like kids …
All waiting for Santa …
Putting up decorations..
Going to parties….
And I for one love it!
We wear blue instead of somber purple or sackcloth
We anticipate with glowing expectation…
Messiah is coming!
Sing out! Go tell it on the mountain!
And I, for one, love it!
But it was not always that way….
When Advent came into the Christian Year in the fifth century, Christmas was getting cranked up in
the West…
And it was a penitential season….
A time for looking at yourself…preparing,
Because it looked not only to Christ’s
birth….but his 2nd coming in judgement!….
Somber stuff!
The early Church was very aware of the end of the world…
Jewish rabbis talked about it…and finally Christians
condensed the Last Things at the end of the world into four…
February 5, 2023
Epiphany 5A – George Yandell
Let me read you a letter to an insurance company about frustrations and disappointment. Maybe you have had similar experiences.
Dear Sir:
I am writing in response to your request for additional information. In Block #3 of the accident reporting form, I put quote – LOST PRESENCE OF MIND – unquote, as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully, and I trust that the following details will be sufficient.
I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a six-story building. When I completed my work, I discovered that I had about 500 lbs. of brick left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which fortunately was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor.
Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out, and loaded the brick into it. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to ensure a slow descent of the 500 lbs. of bricks. You will note in Block #11 of the accident reporting form that I weigh 135 lbs.
Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I LOST MY PRESENCE OF MIND and forgot to let go of the rope.