Lent’s Long Journey LENT III March 15, 2009David Brubacher Text: I Corinthians 1:18-25 Psalm 19 Exodus 20:1-17 My grandmother had a stroke when she was thirty nine. All the years I knew her she spoke with a stutter and her walk was unsteady. It was not uncommon to see gramma out walking and see her roll on a heap. I can remember several tumbles down the steep and narrow cellar steps that ended close to the stone foundation…
Que será, Sarah? LENT II March 8, 2009Michele Rizoli Text: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 Psalm 22:23-31 Romans 4:13-25 Mark 8:31-38 What do the biblical character Sarah and Nadya Suleman have in common? Nadya (as you may know if you stand in line at supermarkets or drugstores) is a mother of 6 in California who this past January had 8 more children all at once using in-vitro fertilization. Sarah, as you may know from our Scripture story, is a mother…
Lent as Re-creation LENT I March 1, 2009Aldred Neufeldt Lectionary Readings: Genesis 9:8-17 Psalm 25:1-10 Mark 1:9-15 I Peter 3:18-22 Introduction Ringing in my ears and mind these days are the wonderful words and harmonies of the Mass in B minor composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (John, for short). No doubt other members of Pax Christi Chorale, which is performing the Mass in late April, join me in this. As I’ve engaged with the music, I have become ever more impressed by Bach’s…
Rooted in Jesus Baptism and Communion February 1, 2009David Brubacher Texts: John 15:1-11 Psalm 111 The “sermon” this morning includes all the things you have already seen, heard and song. Baptism and Communion will follow as further parts of the “sermon.” Living as I do in the middle of the vineyards of the Niagara Peninsula I offer a few reflections on John 15, Jesus the True Vine, as pertaining to Baptism and Communion. Several years ago our neighbours built…
God’s Transforming Voice II Epiphany – The Baptism of our Lord January 11, 2009David Brubacher Texts: Mark 1:4-11 Genesis 1:1-5 Psalm 29 The plant’s name I don’t remember. I learned of it during an overnight camel trek in the Negev desert in southern Israel. It was July. It was hot and dry. The plant, indeed all plants, seemed to be dead. Taking a pod from the plant, our guide placed it in water…
A Subversive Welcome Epiphany January 4, 2009David Brubacher Texts: Matthew 2:1-12 Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14 Most of us love a good story. Good stories, when they are really good, get under our skin to touch us in the depth of our being and cause us to change our mind. The story of Epiphany as we have heard it in the scriptures read today is a story like that. It is a subversive story. Stories,…
God’s Grace Embodied IV Advent December 21, 2008David Brubacher Texts: II Samuel 7:1-11, 16 Luke 1:26-38, 46-55 Somewhere within most of us there is a young child that likes to have its own way. That child can become so focused on the matter at hand that it insists on having its way. We might even throw a tantrum. Rage grips us as we perceive the injustice that keeps us from our desired objective.…
Something Old, Something New II Advent December 7, 2008 David Brubacher Texts: Isaiah 40:1-11 Mark 1:1-8 My father-in-law always wore his glasses to eat. “Food tastes better that way,” he reasoned. He was suggesting seeing enhances taste. Today the conversation between our scriptures and our Advent theme reflects something of one sense enhancing another. Our theme, Let Your Face Shine, explores the faces of God shining upon us so that we might be saved.…
Where is God? I Advent November 30, 2008 David Brubacher Texts: Isaiah 64:1-9 Mark 13:24-37 When our children were young, the Where is Waldo? books were popular with children, and adults. In a busy landscape of people and social activity the idea was to see how many times you could locate Waldo. Turning the book at different angles helped. Today is I Advent. Our Advent theme, Let your face shine, invites us to…
Justice or Benevolence in Paul’s New Creation? Sermon VI in the “New Paul” series November 16, 2008 Tim Schmucker Texts: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, 8:1-24 Ephesians 6:10-20 I’ve got to be honest with you this morning. This sermon’s about money; how we use money, how we accumulate money, how we share it, and how we don’t. It’s about money, and I’m nervous. You see, no matter if I’m preaching on Paul or Jesus or the…