2011
Sermons
Dez 28 - Sorrow, Hope, and Fulfillment
Dez 25 - Et incarnatus est
Dez 24 - Extreme Humility
Dez 24 - Becoming Simple Gifts
Dez 18 - Annunciation
Dez 11 - Rejoice! Good News!
Dez 7 - Separated
Dez 5 - Greetings!
Dez 4 - Heralds!
Nov 27 - Look back, look ahead, look around
Nov 20 - Accountable?
Nov 13 - Encouragement of the Future Present
Nov 11 - Key Words for Veterans' Day
Nov 6 - To Pray without Ceasing
Okt 30 - The Spirit's Work Continues
Okt 23 - Holy Is and Holy Does
Okt 9 - Welcome to the Banquet
Okt 2 - Judgments Final and Otherwise
Sep 25 - Invitation to the Dance
Sep 18 - What kind of Life?
Sep 11 - Forgiven Living
Sep 4 - Debt-free
Aug 28 - Did Jesus say "Pick up your sox." or "Be who you truly are."?
Aug 21 - The Community of Storytellers
Aug 15 - Baptized into Hope
Aug 11 - Sacrifice
Aug 7 - Called and Sent through Water
Aug 5 - In Spite of Sorrow
Jul 31 - Extravagant Abundance
Jul 24 - Kingdom, Crisis, Opportunity
Jul 17 - It's God's Harvest
Jul 10 - Unexpected Results
Jul 3 - A Burden
Jun 26 - True Hospitality
Jun 19 - Gather in awe; go with resolve and joy
Jun 12 - Church Disrupted
Jun 11 - An Argument with God
Jun 10 - Abide with us, Lord
Jun 5 - Silent Action, Active Silence
Mai 29 - Hollow or Full?
Mai 22 - Stoned because of a Sermon
Mai 15 - Life Abundant
Mai 14 - And Jacob Was Blessed
Mai 13 - Fresh Every Morning
Mai 12 - Of First Importance
Mai 8 - Emmaus keeps happening!
Mai 1 - So Great a Treasure
Apr 24 - Easter Earthquake
Apr 23 - Storytellers
Apr 22 - Completed
Apr 22 - The Tomb, Jonah, and Jesus
Apr 21 - Anamnesis – Remembrance
Apr 17 - What Kind of King?
Apr 10 - Can these bones live?
Apr 3 - Nit-pickers, Wound-Lickers, Goodness-Sakers, and Arm-Wavers
Mrz 27 - Inside, Outside, Upside-down
Mrz 20 - More Contrasts
Mrz 13 - Contrasts
Mrz 9 - Stop...and Turn
Mrz 7 - We're So Blessed
Mrz 6 - The Fellowship of Fear
Feb 20 - Holy and Perfect
Feb 13 - Blessed, for what?
Feb 12 - Barriers Broken
Feb 6 - Salt and Light
Jan 30 - The Future Present
Jan 23 - Come and See, Go and Do
Jan 16 - Come and See
Jan 13 - Time
Jan 9 - Servant of the Most High
Jan 5 - Rise, Shine
Jan 2 - The World's No and God's Yes
Jan 2 - Word and words
Storytellers
Easter Vigil - April 23, 2011
We know the story.
We've been reviewing it this evening.
It is the story of love and patience,
of reprimand and forgiveness,
of rescue and new creation.
The story began long ago,
at the dawn of creation,
where darkness is pushed back
and God makes room for light and life.
The story soon turns dark,
as people allow themselves to fall to temptation,
with jealousy and anger ruling over
our proper attitude of thanks and praise.
It leads to murder and hate,
the poison of sin
that spreads throughout our life together.
God begins again with us, through Abraham.
He responds faithfully to God,
even when it seems that success is unlikely.
Generation after generation,
God keeps coming back
to Abraham and his descendants,
calling on them to follow.
When starvation threatens,
he rescues them through Joseph.
When they fall into slavery,
he rescues them through Moses.
When they sin again and again,
he sends prophets like Jonah and Isaiah
to call them and indeed all nations
to heed the Word of God.
When the situation seems hopeless,
he sends a message through Ezekiel.
When many had given up waiting,
he sent his Son,
who is the one who can finally live the faithful life in which everyone else falters.
He is the one who tackles and conquers every force that would try to separate us from God and from each other.
Not even death is a match for him, for in the resurrection all of the things that he proclaimed are vindicated. by the Father.
With his promise, he binds us to himself, and thereby connects us with each other.
This is the story that we pass this night to Breanna.
Now she too is become a story-teller, right along with the rest of us.
Just the other day she told me her version of it.
She wrote it as a song, and here is the text:
“I love Jesus, because Jesus first loved me.”
It is a very apt and appropriate summary of the story.
As the years go by, she will be adding verses to her song with this as her continuing refrain: “I love Jesus, because he first loved me.”
How will we encourage Breanna and each other in this task?
A key way is by continuing to gather at the Lord's Table, where he gives us his very presence.
We'll retell the story in the setting where Jesus promises to be available to us, strengthening us, giving us a fresh start.
We're here tonight to tell a story,
an old story that is ever new and fresh
because it is spoken to us on a different day
in which our challenges are just a bit different than they were yesterday.
Breanna's summary is a great one;
and we all know another one, too:
Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Amen.
|
Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him. |