Dove of Peace Lutheran Church Sermons

The argument that Paul is making throughout most of First Corinthians is about a conflict between knowledge and love. We often hear about and think about a conflict between faith and science. Or between religion and science. But Paul is talking about a struggle in the community between knowledge and love... when he puts knowledge in contrast with love is how a basic religious fact or truth can be used as a club to bully and beat other people.

God in flesh made manifest. Somehow in those early days in Galilee, people grew enthusiastic about Jesus. They knew, somehow, that whatever he was up to, it was indeed good news for their lives, and that in Jesus– God in flesh made manifest– their own lives could be transformed and renewed.

What the beginning of Jesus’ ministry tells us, according to Mark, is that the boundary between heaven and earth is being opened. A portal is being opened. Actually, is being torn open. Because of the persistent, tenacious love of God for the human race. And that’s a potentially happy thought for us.

There is definitely a sense of wonder and magic in the Bible’s original presentation of the Christmas events. Even the name for these wise men, these so-called kings from the east– the Persian word magush became the Greek word magos, whose plural form is Magi. From which we get the word magic. So there is wonder and magic in the holiday season.

Our light has come. A light we have beheld with our own eyes. And a light that promises to be for all people. With that thought in mind, we can say goodbye to 2017. The good and the bad. We can depart in peace. Knowing that history and our lives are in the hands of this God who has come to us as a baby in Bethlehem.

God is normally in heaven, where things are good. And humankind is normally on earth, where things vary (at best). On Christmas, the drawbridge is down, the highway is open, between heaven and earth. Because God comes down to be with us.

Luke wrote the Gospel that bears his name, and he wrote the Acts of the Apostles. And there is exactly one person who occurs both in the first chapter of Luke. And in the first chapter of Acts. Mary the mother of Jesus... Mary would be continuity and memory. All of these strange and wonderful things that happened when she was young would not come together until she was old, and widowed, and had watched her son die.

Elijah lived in a time of failed institutions. He was an outsider. In a time when the political order and the religious order had both fallen into corruption and decay. Elijah lived in exile. He lived hand to mouth. And he was an opponent of corrupt kings and queens who tried to murder him. It is no wonder, then, that John– who lived in the wilderness– and who stood on the opposite side of the border, the east side of the Jordan beyond the reach of princes and law enforcement– John was seen as Elijah.

The judge– Christ– is all around us, 24 hours a day. “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me.” Members of this church and others regularly speak to me about the difficulty of encounters with homeless people. The difficulty is that the homeless person is a judgment. A judgment on us, and on our society. Understanding THAT is the first step. We push them away, sometimes, because they smell bad, or because they lack good manners. But we really push them away because they make us uncomfortable. They remind us of the vast work of the kingdom of heaven. They remind us of this parable. “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me.”

Our treasure, our talent is this congregation. In some ways, we are surely tempted to bury this talent in the ground. To preserve what we have by receding behind walls. That is what is happening to many congregations. And not only congregations, but many social institutions... We at Dove of Peace are not doing that. Every day we sweep the steps, we raise the flag, we turn on the lights, and we open the doors. And we invite all to come. Come and find hope. Come and find connection. Come and taste that the Lord is good.

The writers of the Bible understand holiness to be a condition that is decreed by God and created by God. And Paul– who used the word “saint” far more than any other writer of the Bible– for Paul, saints are decreed by God and created by God. Sainthood is not something to boast about. But sainthood is conferred because God sets us apart. For special good. Just as on page one, God set aside the seventh day and hallowed it... so God sets us aside, for special good.

Paul was telling the Christians in Corinth– as he sought their help in reaching out to the others– Paul knew that they knew the first grace, Martin Luther’s grace– the free gift of God’s unconditional love. NOW, Paul said, Abound in THIS grace also. Live abundantly in this project of kindness and generosity toward those who are not kind and generous.

This is the promise… that comes true in today’s reading, Isaiah 45. When Babylon is defeated by Persia. And the Persian king, Cyrus, decrees that for the Jews, the exile is over. That they can return, rebuild, and recreate their city and their temple. Our English translation shows how God calls Cyrus his "anointed” one.

Most Americans, most American culture, and most American Christianity is extremely idealistic. Or wants to be. When humans invest heavily in dreams and ideals, and those ideals fail, then humans become extremely bitter, extremely angry, extremely cynical. In America right now we are seeing the consequence of broken dreams and shattered ideals. And then people retreating to their corners, to their closed rooms, and doubling down, investing even more in those ideals.

In our broken relationships, in our wrong choices, in our bad luck, in the places where the ground has shifted under our feet: Jesus opens a new door. We have a chance to turn our “No” into a Yes. We have space and time to change or minds and to walk through that door.

In Jonah, God has a high regard for what we would call non-believers. Even non-believers who are our enemies. And God has a high regard for cattle. And God’s project of mercy and justice extends to all of it. Everything he made… God’s amazing “YES” to you and to me is also a “YES” to the whole world out there. And the scriptures today tell us that our attitude should reflect that.

If we want shalom, if we want peace, here, east of Eden, we engage in this very difficult process of forgiveness... Jesus seems to be saying that the lavishness of God’s grace should make us more magnanimous toward others.

In today’s reading from the Gospel According to Matthew, when Jesus says that the Church– not just Peter, but THE CHURCH– when Jesus says that the Church can bind and loosen, Jesus probably means that the Church can tighten the Ten Commandments and human conscience. And sometimes the Church can loosen the Ten Commandments and human conscience.

So the Bible has a lot of words do describe the people in this room. But one of those words– ekklesia, church– means the designated agency, the uniformed body, the public expression. And like the uniformed police officer, with that role comes great responsibility and great duty.

[Mark and Matthew] knew that if Jesus hadn’t established a church with Peter that they wouldn’t be writing gospels because there wouldn’t be a church, there wouldn’t be a people of God... Jesus comes to us because of the rock of people like Peter, people who are built up into the Church.

In these days it is fitting that part of our customary practice, part of our witness is this great song about Christ that establishes kinship. Horizontally, around the world, every Sunday with hundreds of millions of Christians in every time zone and in every language. And vertically, through the centuries and the eons, testifying to our unity with the saints of the ages.

Although the other gospels talk about Jesus calming the storm– only in Matthew do we get this compelling story of Peter. Stepping out of the boat. And beginning to walk. But then losing his nerve– being seized by fear– and beginning to sink.”

Jesus feeds thousands. "God sees us and accompanies us in those hungry and abandoned and scary regions of our lives. The places precisely where we do NOT have everything we need, and where we cannot rely on ourselves and where we cannot make our own solutions.”

The important work of a community like ours is to include both the old and the new. The things which have been appraised and treasured in the past. And the things which will be appraised and treasured in the future.

We don’t make permanent judgments that are not ours to make. And in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gives us two good reasons. First, because God has been so generous and forgiving to us that we must be generous in spirit to others. And if that isn’t enough,then we should refrain from judging others because we don’t know. That’s God’s job.

The Sower just stays faithful to his task. Some people may think he’s crazy. Some people may think he’s wasteful. But I think this an image that should inspire us.

We are called to look deeply at our own selves and our own lives. We are called to be honest about our true limitations and our true motivations. We are called to rely on the mercy and assistance of God. Our faith is not in our selves.

Hope is not a delusion. Hope is moral responsbility. Hope is not for the weak. Hope is for heroes.

There have been three strikes in the Christian household... so I am praying for a good pope, and a new Reformation, another Great Awakening

It’s the paradox that we spoke of on September 11, exemplified in the prayer attributed to St. Francis: It is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. That mind– the mind of Good Friday, the mind of Christ Jesus– should be our mind, Paul says today.

Is it fair? It depends on your perspective. Just because you do what you ought to do doesn’t mean that God owes you special treatment. Furthermore, in our form of Christianity, we don’t believe that anyone ever succeeds in doing everything they ought to do. We believe that everybody receives better from God than they deserve.

The Church’s first pastoral task is to bear witness to God’s constancy. Above the fray, beyond the clanging gong of mankind’s foolishness, always lies the truth which judges us, the mercy which nurtures us, the God of Abraham and Isaac, of Jacob and Joseph."

Sorry for the poor audio quality. Paul’s letters split. The first two thirds or so are about God’s work. And then the word “therefore.” And the rest of the letter is about how we ought to act in response to what God has done.

Sorry for the poor audio quality. Paul’s letters split. The first two thirds or so are about God’s work. And then the word “therefore.” And the rest of the letter is about how we ought to act in response to what God has done.

Paul says that what you do for your neighbor is worship. If you’re a teacher, then teaching is your worship. If you’re a farmer, then farming is your worship. Are you an exhorter? Paul says that some of us are exhorters! That’s a person who gives encouragement, a kind of coach. That’s real worship, says Paul.."

But now in Isaiah, God is saying that he is going to welcome the eunuchs. The eunuchs and all the other people who have been outcasts

The faith Jesus is talking about does not mean agreeing with the book of Revelation, or making sense of the Trinity, or accepting the Lutheran doctrines spelled out in the Book of Concord. It’s a highly personal faith– trust

Sermon by guest preacher John Hoetler

In the best of times, life is difficult. In the worst of times, life seems like a cruel joke. We are sitting ducks for all the evils around us, and all the evils inside us. What then are we say to these things? Nevertheless. A calm “nevertheless.” A defiant “nevertheless.”

But already, Jesus is saying that both weed and wheat lie within me. The causes of sin are pride, disobedience, and a desire to be God. The causes of sin lie within each of us. If we’re in a hurry to get rid of evil, then we have to get rid of the human race. And that’s not God’s plan

"The divorced church, the church that is not equally yoked with the state, hears this message fresh. The growth is beyond our control. The seed– which is our message– is something we just proclaim. We say it over and over and over. And sometimes it’s going to be wasted. And sometimes it will pay off a hundredfold."

"This is the great central truth that Martin Luther latched onto. All you can ever know about God, and all you ever need to know about God, is in Jesus Christ. All other talk about God is speculation and foolishness."

"Hananiah and the others have all realized that there is a lot more money to be made in telling people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear."

Pastor John Hoelter preaching. "When we talk about God, in the house of our thinking, we often continue to say what we say even when what we say doesn't really say what we want to say, but it is the best that we can do."

"If we are going to be messengers to the whole world, we’re going to have to speak some of its languages. And that doesn’t just mean Mandarin or French or Russian. It means speaking the language of the young. Speaking the language of those who are in crisis. Those who fear organized religion. Those who have a different kind of family or who have a different way of dressing. If we speak their language, we show respect and we show welcome. If we fail to speak their language, we create only fear and resentment."

"Our congregation has to accept the challenge that God has given us. We are in Athens. We are in a culture that is intellectual and scientific, or likes to think that it is intellectual and scientific. A culture that likes to chatter about every new thing. A culture that is skeptical of organized religion, especially Christianity."

Campus ministry pastor Ron Rude, preaching. "'in my Father's house there are many dwelling places,' well, yes, the Father's house is heaven, but isn't the Father's house wherever the Creator is, wherever the kingdom of God is?"

Sermon on John 10:1-10.

August 15, 2010 -- Sermon on Intentional Generational Understanding

August 15, 2010 -- Sermon on Personal Witness

August 8, 2010 -- Sermon on Social Justice