Fully Alive
“God is the God of the living, and not of the dead.”
St. Iranaeus said, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive; and the life of humanity consists in beholding God.”
Lord Have Mercy
The parable is concerned with how we understand justification. Now, in theological terms, to be justified means to be “righteous in God’s eyes.” And, justification is the word we use to describe how we become righteous in God’s eyes. That is, the word justification is all about what God sees when God looks at us, and this word – justification – is interested in explaining what it takes for any of us to become righteous in God’s eyes. How do we get there? How do we end up looking good to God?
As They Went…
In the movie, Forrest Gump, some bullies are throwing rocks at Forrest as he’s talking to his friend Jenny, and so she tells Forrest to run. But there’s a problem, because Forrest wore braces to correct a problem with his spine. And so he stumbles off, trying desperately to run, even though the leg braces…
It Would Take a Miracle
The first thing that popped into my head when I was preparing this sermon was a scene from the old classic Princess Bride. The hero of the story has been killed, and Fezzik the Giant and Inigo Montoya take him to Miracle Max, a man who sells miracles, and gives them a giant pill to…
Priorities
As many of you know, this past week I was at a conference for clergy. The name of the conference is CREDO, which is Latin for “I believe.” It’s the root of the word “creed,” as in the Apostle’s Creed, or the Nicene Creed. The conference is intended to help clergy get the various aspects…
The Lost Sheep
Just this week, the country experienced the murder of a young man, a public figure, on a university campus. He was shot by another young man. People were shocked. And people are angry. In June, a man dressed as a police officer killed a politician and her husband, and attempted to kill another politician and…
Worth the Cost
There’s a new insurance commercial in which the spokesperson is talking to a customer, and the customer says it’s a bit overwhelming to run a business and to care for a family. And the spokesperson says, “Sounds like someone needs a vacation.” The customer responds with, “What’s that?” And then she names a bunch of…
That’s My Seat
Just recently I was watching a movie that I think this very distinguished audience would never watch. It was a spoof called “Naked Gun.” At the opening of the movie, the hero is singlehandedly beating up all the tyrants and dictators of the world who had gathered together for a cup of tea. When he…
You Can’t Handle the Truth
You may all remember the movie, “A Few Good Men.” At the beginning of the movie, a Marine, named William Santiago, is tied up and beaten in the middle of the night. He is later found dead. Two other Marines, Dawson and Downey, are accused of murder, and are on trial. The lawyer assigned to…
Be Prepared
When I was younger, I belonged to a troop of Boy Scouts. Our motto was “Be Prepared.” The whole text told us to “Be prepared in Mind, by having disciplined yourself to be obedient to every order, and also by having thought out beforehand any accident or situation that might occur, so that you know…