Sermon for Epiphany 3

A sermon preached at Trinity-Mount Rainier on the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, January 27, 2019.

His First Sermon
Luke 4:16-30
(Other Readings Appointed: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a)

I often joke with people who come into my study here at the church who see on the wall a picture of a young boy looking as if he’s “preaching his heart out”, and when asked who it is I tell them, “Oh, that’s just me in my early ministry.” I’m not really sure how good or bad of a preacher I was in those days, chiefly because I never really got much feedback from the congregation of dolls, teddy bears, and other assorted stuffed animals that gathered in the chapel in the basement of my childhood home. According to family lore, though, there is somewhere a tape recording of one of those early sermons, and it is told that it was a “barnburner” of a sermon—just a little kid repeating over and over in different inflections one simple verse from Scripture—“God is love”.

Since this tape has never materialized, I cannot confirm or deny its existence, its content, or its relative “cuteness factor”. But I was reminded of this family story as I thought of what we heard of in today’s Gospel. In the readings from the Gospel during this Epiphany Season, we are invited to see the continual unfolding of Jesus being revealed to the people to whom He was sent to save. In Luke’s telling of the story of Jesus, we saw Him baptized by John in the Jordan, and after a time apart from the crowds in the wilderness (more on that in Lent), Jesus comes home to Nazareth and really begins His work of calling people to come and to follow Him so that they might come to share in the life and salvation He had come to bring.

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Sermon for Epiphany 2

A sermon preached at Trinity-Mount Rainier on the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, January 20, 2019.

All the Best
John 2:1-11
(Other Readings Appointed: Isaiah 62:1-5; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11)

In today’s Gospel we heard, “On the third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee.” And in hearing these words, along with the mother of Jesus, with Jesus Himself, His disciples, and with all of those others who were present that day, we too have been invited to be there and to witness the joy of this moment. To be invited to be present at this moment is not unlike our attending of weddings in our own day. We come to rejoice with the bride and groom, celebrating the union and life that they begin in the Lord’s Name and blessing, and rejoicing in the abundant gift of love which has brought them together, and which, Lord willing, will carry them through the rest of their days.

Perhaps if we think of this moment as a wedding celebration in our own day, we might find ourselves having the opportunity of greeting the happy couple at some time during the course of the day’s festivities. And among the things that we can say to them would most likely be the most common of well-wishes spoken on these occasions: “I wish you all the best”. It is a wish that does not say that there won’t be the moments in their life that will be less than perfect, but that perhaps there will be more joys to outweigh the sorrows of life, and that there might be more plenty rather than want.

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Sermon for the Baptism of Our Lord

A sermon prepared to have been preached at Trinity-Mount Rainier for the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, the First Sunday after the Epiphany, January 13, 2019. The Divine Service for the day was cancelled owing to winter weather conditions.

Fear Not!
Isaiah 43:1-7
(Other Readings Appointed: Romans 6:1-11; Luke 3:15-22)

On March 4, 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated as the 32nd President of the United States. In what was his first inaugural address, Roosevelt uttered what would become one of many famous quotations of his presidency. Speaking to a nation which still found itself in the grips of its “Great Depression”, Roosevelt chose to inspire hope to the nation he would come to lead for a little over 12 years by declaring, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Roosevelt’s words are an interesting and memorable turn of phrase which were simply a call to a fearful nation to not be afraid. Yet, when one thinks a little about the idea of only having fear itself to fear, that means that there is still something that we are able to be afraid of. In some ways, being afraid of fear almost seems to put us in a place where we come to find ourselves always frightened because there always seems to be something or someone who will make us afraid.

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Sermon for the Epiphany of Our Lord

A sermon preached at Trinity-Mount Rainier on the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord, January 6, 2019. The Divine Service on this Feast was held jointly with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus in Maryland in celebration of Ethiopian Christmas and the first anniversary of our sharing the church building together.

Drawn to the Light
Isaiah 60:1-6
(Other Readings Appointed: Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12)

The celebration of Christmas is seen as a “festival of light”, and we see this both in the ways that both the Church and the world keep this time. Although in some places they have already been taken down for the year, one is surrounded by the lights that both decorate as well as cheer the long, dark nights which we have in this northern half of the world. In churches, we will often have worship services which feature candlelight, especially on Christmas Eve. And for us as followers of Jesus, these lights are signs to us of the One we celebrate; the One who has come into our sin-darkened world as the Light of the world.

It is this Light which is our Savior Jesus whom Isaiah joyfully announced to us today: “Arise, shine, for your Light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” This prophesy has been linked to the event we celebrate today as the Epiphany—the revealing of the Messiah and the Savior to the Wise Men; showing us that this Redeemer has come not only for the Jewish people, but also for the people of all the nations: the Gentiles. We hear from Isaiah of how the world is drawn to come and see this Promised One and to be filled with joy because of His arrival. They come from the corners of the world, bearing gifts, and praising God for the great and wonderful thing He has done by sending us this Savior whom we and the world need.

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