Preachrblog

  Pentecost 26 Mark 13:1-13 “Saved in the End” You see this fancy temple? It's toast. You see these tall pillars? They're coming down. The Holy Place? Scrap it. The Holy of Holies? First they'll tear it down, then it will become a trash heap, then a shrine to a false god, and then, along with every other once proud and impressive location – everything will be destroyed. Not even one stone left on another. Are you impressed by the things of this world? The Sistine Chapel? The Great Wall of China? Mt. Rushmore? None of it will last. Even the Pyramids, which have stood perhaps the longest – they'll be gone, too. Your house, your neighborhood, the Taco Bell. Your school, your workplace, even your church building. It's that time of the year again, the end of the church year, in which the lectionary, for several weeks, sets before us these readings which point to the end. Call it the judgment day, the last day, the second coming of Christ. Or use the fancy term, “eschatol...

  On one level, today’s reading is very simple.   Jesus teaches us to beware of the scribes, but commends a poor widow.   These two couldn’t be more opposite.   The wealthy and powerful scribes, probably well known and well regarded, and the poor widow who exists on the fringes of society.   The scribes made a show of their wealth, their status, and even their religion.   But they are not truly righteous.   It’s all a big show.   When no one is looking, they take advantage of the weak, and devour even the houses of widows, making their profits and greedy gain at the expense of the poor and lowly. The widow, on the other hand, poor as she is, does what these muckety-mucks do not, and cannot.   She gives all that she has.   And Jesus commends her for it.   He doesn’t care about the amount.   He is impressed by the proportion, that she gave ALL that she had to live on – 100%!   A far cry greater, in a way, than even the m...

  The readings for All Saints day remind us, in various ways, of our identity as the people of God.   Even though we are all sinners, yet we are, indeed, all saints.   Blessed by God, as Jesus puts it, so poetically, in the Beatitudes.   We are those who have washed our robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, as John saw the picture of the church in his vision.   But that same apostle John also wrote the words of our Epistle reading today- which reminds us that we are children of God.   Let’s focus on this theme this morning. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. John begins with the reason we can be called children of God – and that is the love of the Father, given to us.   Some translations render it this way, “See what kind of love the Father has lavished upon us.”   See.   Take note.   Mark it well.   It is great, exceeding, over-the-top love fr...

  This Reformation Day we take a closer look at the appointed Psalm for the day, Psalm 46.   “God is our refuge and strength.” “The God of Jacob is our fortress.”   These words in particular inspired Martin Luther to write his great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”   The hymn is a sort of paraphrase of Psalm 46, and a profound sermon in its own right. God is our refuge and strength,     a very present help in trouble. A refuge is a place where you go when the going gets tough.   That’s our God! A place of safety in a time of danger.   He is our strength – that is also to say that we, ourselves, have no strength to speak of.   When trouble comes, He is our help – our only hope.   But he is present with us, not far off, but ever near.   By his word, and in his sacraments, he is with us always, even to the end of the age. 2  Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, ...

  Today's Gospel reading follows immediately after last week's, when Jesus lovingly tried to call the rich young man to repentance. “If you want to enter the kingdom, go sell everything you have” and the man went away sad, for he was very rich. And now, Jesus comments on the incident, and on the broader problem of those with great riches entering the kingdom. And his disciples are amazed. Why were they amazed by this? Perhaps because then, like now, we look at those with wealth and riches in a certain light. We see wealth and riches as a mark of success and perhaps even a sign of God's favor. We Americans are especially susceptible to this kind of thinking. We are the world's superpower, and even in a down economy, the wealthiest country in the world. Our standard of living is among the highest, and we enjoy many physical blessings just by living here. Even our poor people are quite well off by a worldly standard. So the easy thing to think is, God must favor us. He...

  One of those little aphorisms they taught us at seminary was something like this, “ministry happens in the interruptions.”   In other words, don’t be surprised when the most important things you do to serve people as a pastor are unplanned, and not part of the “normal” routines, not something that you think is important or necessary, but something that happens when some need arises or some question needs an answer.   It’s part of the reason I like to keep my office door open as much as possible – I’ve actually learned to appreciate the “interruptions.” Well, today, as Jesus is setting out on a journey, he is interrupted.   A rich young man comes running up and kneels before Jesus in what appears to be quite a show.   He has, also, quite a question, and really an important one for him and for all people who would be saved.   “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”   From the outset we can see something is amiss with this young man.   He cal...

  Our congregation has, for many years, observed an annual “life Sunday.”   Of course, we teach, as the Bible does, that life is precious and that from conception we are created in the image of God.   It’s a teaching that many reject today, an unpopular teaching in a culture of death where personal choice reigns supreme. Perhaps, in a similar way, we need to start observing a “Marriage and Family Sunday.”     Our appointed readings today invite just such a thing.   Jesus teaches us the importance of marriage, and warns against divorce and adultery.   He speaks this little axiomatic phrase, “What God has joined together, let man not separate” or “put asunder.”   And then he goes on to discuss children, indignant that the disciples tried to shoo the children away, and eager to give those little ones his blessing.   Marriage and family are under duress in our culture.   But to some extent they always have been.   Adam and Eve did...