On this Sunday after Easter, we celebrate “Holy Humor.”
We’re called to laugh. Laughter is not an escape. It’s not a weapon. It’s not something to be hoarded. Laughter is something we’re called to nurture. It’s something we’re called to grow in. Laughter is a way to celebrate God’s reign now, and in the future.
Melissa tells us there were two very different realities that Sunday morning, three days after Jesus had been crucified. The contrast between the Jewish women and the Roman soldiers at the grave couldn’t have been greater.
The Easter story is a story of grace. It’s a reordering of life. We’re encouraged to let ourselves be loved by God and to love God in return.
It’s Palm Sunday. The day we celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem as the King of Peace. But Jerusalem is a powder keg at Passover, and Jesus tosses in a match. It’s not unlike the unrest during the Civil Rights movement, when activists carried out a series of non-violent direct actions, pushing against the norms and upsetting those in power. The gospel of Jesus Christ will not make you nice or orderly; it will make you a very poor citizen to the way things have always been. Especially during this Holy Week, what are you willing to be left undone, to make space for resurrection?
Johnny Cash plays heavily in Melissa’s sermon today. In fact, the service included listening to one of his songs that talks about today’s parable of God’s judgment, separating the sheep from the goats.
When I hear Johnny saying God’s going to cut you down, or Jesus preaching the story that might make our eyes a little bit wider, I hear a warning, a red flashing siren from people who know how bad life can be when you are drowning in self-deception, in your ignorance of your neighbor’s suffering, or our desire to look out for ourselves even if it means that you run other people down.
And to be forgiven for hurting people we love? That’s where eternal life starts. To let that forgiveness send you out to discover people who are lost and alone. That is the very center of God’s reign.
Melissa places the parable of the bridesmaids waiting for the groom at the wedding in the larger context of parables around it. All of you who call yourselves followers of Jesus, now is the time! Stop getting distracted. Focus on what we are called to do. We need to find Jesus in the dispossessed, the most vulnerable among us because the reign of God is not in the future. It’s here and now.
A farmer hires workers throughout the day. Some work all day others just short time but the farmer pays all of them the same wages. This may not be fair but it is right. God does not bless people according to title, power, salary or any measure, God’s grace is freely given to everyone. This is good news or as Melissa put it “the full employment at a living wage parable”.
Melissa also address the erroneous use of this parable to raise Christians above others. Dividing people and causing harm.
During Lent, RMC is focusing on some of Jesus’ parables. This first Sunday of Lent Melissa spoke from Matthew 18:21-35, the difficult parable of the slave who owed a great sum of money.
Melissa hearkened back to her memories of the Westminster Catechism to remind us what our chief purpose is: To glorify God and delight in God forever. (A slight paraphrase.) “I pray wasted time for each of you this week.” Matthew 16:24-17:8
As Melissa recounts the story of Jesus feeding of the 5,000, she ponders what we have to offer. Just five loaves and two fishes. God can take the little and make it much. Matthew 14:13-33
Guest speaker Nathan Hershberger provided the sermon based on Matthew 13:24-43. God demands justice but will bring it about without our violence. In the meantime, we water and keep the mixed fields of our souls, and join together to water and keep the mixed fields of our churches and our world
Rachel helped us take a broader view of a number of Jesus’ parables found in the Gospel of Matthew, providing some background and giving the congregation an opportunity to reflect on them in a new way.
Melissa preaches from Matthew 6:7-21.
Melissa recounts the story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. It might be viewed as a test to see if Jesus is really who he claims to be. Jesus believes he is God’s beloved. We might not be able to pass the tests Jesus was faced with, but we also are God’s beloved. Matthew 4:1-17
In the second message in the series on Jesus’ life as told in Matthew, we come to Jesus’ baptism. Melissa provides a fresh perspective on this age-old story and invites those of us who have been baptized to reflect back on what it means. Matthew 3:1-17
Melissa preached from Matthew 1:17-25, the story of an incredibly creative act of God. The doctrine of the virgin birth becomes, as Karl Barth says, “The guard at the door of the mystery of Christmas.”