Read the scripture. Our passage is called a “floating pericope” by New Testament scholars. A pericope is a self-contained passage of Scripture. This familiar story of a woman caught in adultery is not found in most ancient manuscripts. In other manuscripts it’s located in John 7:53-8:11, at the end of… Continue reading
The great German preacher Helmut Thielicke, in an Epiphany sermon entitled “The Message of Redeeming Light,” said the following: If we take light seriously, we have also to reckon with the fact that there is a night in which it shines. This is the limit of all Christmas dreams. Light… Continue reading
(This sermon was preached 39 years ago. I was a college professor teaching religion in a Baptist college. Fundamentalists had chosen me as their target in that college with the intention of having me fired. Susan and I decided that we were no longer Baptists. The straw that broke the… Continue reading
(Please read this psalm, printed at the end of the blog entry, before reading the sermon.) In the movie How the West Was Won, there is a memorable scene. A groom rides from the prairie camp to thank God for his bride. While praying he hears a gunshot and returns… Continue reading
Are you ready for all the feelings of worthlessness to melt away in the glory of God’s love poured out for you? Are you ready to realize from the inside out and in the deepest recesses of your heart and soul that rather than being “nobody’s nothing,” you are a precious, unique child of God whose worth has been sealed forever by sacrificial love? Are you prepared to embrace the identity you already possess in the eyes and heart of God? And are you willing to recognize that such an identity is the birthright of each and every person in this world? If you are ready to know who you really are, then you are ready for Christmas. Continue reading
The third Sunday of Advent often focuses on joy. Laughter motivated by unadulterated joy can indeed be the hand of God on the shoulder of a troubled world. Such laughter is a gift from God, a gift that we need in a world of terrorism and violence, estrangement and bigotry, greed and lies. Continue reading
This standing on tiptoe reminds us that Advent is about expectation, not passive waiting. Advent is related to our word “adventure,” and there is nothing passive about an adventure. Adventurous expectation, as Presbyterian minister Marc Mullinax reminds us, posts a vigilant watch and prepares for that which is promised. God’s reign can break in at any time, and it is our sacred duty to prepare for a God-shaped destiny. Continue reading
Advent is a time when the church prepares itself for the coming of Christ—the birth of this strange peasant king who rules through love and service, truth and justice, compassion and peace. Continue reading
I sense that in this post-modern world, we need to cultivate this “attitude of gratitude” – not a hokey, Pollyanna approach to life, blind to evil and suffering and too syrupy for anyone with sense to stomach; but an attitude, a perspective, a basic stance concerning life that flows from the experience of God’s presence in our midst – a Presence perhaps standing at a distance to give us the space and freedom to choose – a Presence to be found in the beauty of nature, the compassion of our friend, the joy of a child, the face of one so different from us but who is also a daughter or son of God. Continue reading
Faith is all about the basic trust of our lives and what we depend on for our identity and security. James says faith that is only objective belief or sentimental emotion is thoroughly counterfeit. If faith were just a matter of proper belief, then the demons who know God is One (the cardinal doctrine of Judaism and Christianity) would be on the front rows in heaven. And if faith were a matter of sentimental emotion, those with an overactive hypothalamus would be singing in the celestial choirs of the angels with big crocodile tears streaming down their faces. Genuine, 24K faith is a trust that takes concrete form in the way we live our lives. Only such faith is saving. Continue reading
