Sermons
Sermons preached in a context, but written for people of all sorts and conditions.
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a Sermon for Maundy Thursday Text: John 13:1-17, 31b-35 The Cup This year, it was helpful for me to remember that we have developed a different way of marking days from Jesus’s time and place. Then, the day began at dusk. So this, Jesus’s final day, has begun. He gathers His friends for dinner, for…
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Unbinding: emptying the tomb
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5 min read
a Sermon for Lent 5A Text: John 11:1-45 Preventing Death Our story is almost over. Jesus is nearing Jerusalem. And in one final, glorious act, Jesus reveals the very thing He has come to do. A big show of great, inhuman power, in which the whole purpose of the mission is revealed. For us to…
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Leaving the Cave: seeing, believing, and true power
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6 min read
a Sermon for Lent 4A Text: John 9:1-41 Plato’s Cave In Plato’s Republic, the philosopher introduces a strange scenario in which a prisoner is trapped in a cave. The prisoner knows nothing of the world as we know it. He’s stuck in one place, staring straight ahead for a long, long time. Behind him is…
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a Homily for Lent 3A Text: John 4:5-42 The Story Our scene turns from Nicodemus, who seeks Jesus at night to an unnamed woman who stumbles upon him in the middle of the day. I think we are supposed to juxtapose these contrasting characters from chapters 3 and 4. Night/Day. Man/Woman. Named/Nameless. Leader/Commoner. Insider/Outsider. Hebrew/Samaritan.…
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Revealed: honesty and the Christian
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6 min read
a Homily for Lent 2A Text: John 3:1-17 Under Cover of Darkness We meet Nicodemus in Lent each year. Like Jesus, we receive him in darkness and confusion, wondering why he is here. Why does he come if he does not believe or even understand Jesus? Does he seek knowledge only? Is he gathering information…