Episodes

  • Image Dei | Reconciled Into a New Creation - March 19, 2023

    Image Dei | Reconciled Into a New Creation - March 19, 2023
    Mar 19 2023
    Lent 4
    2 Corinthians 5:16-21

    The difficulties we carry from our past – the things we wish we had not said even if it was OK to say those things back then, the doors we locked while at traffic lights, the streets we crossed to avoid walking past someone, or the people we misidentified because of the nothing more than the color of their skin – were taken to the cross with Christ and buried. The result of this is God reconciling creation to God so that we can become instruments of God's reconciling work.

    We have been entrusted with the message of reconciliation.
    A message of love.
    A message of hope.

    So, what are we to do?

    Trust in the promises of God. Trust that we have not been left alone to figure this out. Trust that through "self–examination and repentance; prayer, fasting, and self–denial; and reading and meditating on God's Holy Word," God has reconciled us, and God is reconciling us. To one another – to those, we hold dear in our memories, those we have unknowingly harmed, those we have knowingly harmed, and those who continue to live with their backs against the wall.

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    15 mins
  • Imago Dei | How Long, Lord? - February 26, 2023

    Imago Dei | How Long, Lord? - February 26, 2023
    Feb 26 2023
    February 26, 2023
    Psalm 13

    The help we expect, the help we so desperately need, does not come from ourselves. The track record of human history tells this to be true, and yet time and time again, we turn to ourselves to make right that which we continue to taint with our sin. Cries of lament are our turning toward God, acknowledging our humanness, and opening ourselves to being transformed. It is in being transformed that we can act first by setting aside empty platitudes like “racism is too much, we have to give it to God,” and second, by actively working to correct generations of harm that was done in Christ’s name through acts of supposed mercy and compassion. The very things the Church has been called to do since the disciples were first called away from their fishing nets.

    The transformation that comes, the coming reality of Dr. King’s dream, the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God, the Kin-dom of God, is a gift to us by the One to whom we pray, the One who is actively working to transform his body, and the One who assures us we are never beyond the reach of God’s grace.

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    13 mins
  • Be Still and Know | Transfigured by Grace - February 19, 2023

    Be Still and Know | Transfigured by Grace - February 19, 2023
    Feb 23 2023
    February 19, 2023
    Matthew 17:1-9

    The transfiguration of Jesus Christ, God's shining glory and splendidness, was not a one-off event. Every time the Word of God is proclaimed, every time water is blessed and falls over a person’s head, every time we gather around Christ’s table of grace, and every time we act wither mercy and compassion, we experience what John Wesley called means of grace, and we are transfigured.

    Many voices, too many to list off, tell us we need to transform ourselves.“Make yourself better,” they say.“Improve this so that you can...”As Jesus was glorified at the Transfiguration and set his sights on Jerusalem, we know the heavy lifting has been done. Making his way to the cross, Jesus carried the weight of our sin and guilt, as well as the glory that can only belong to the second person of the Trinity.

    As he exited the tomb, the weight of the guilt of our sin was left behind so that his righteousness would be ours. And it is the righteousness of God, revealed in Christ – born, transfigured, crucified, and resurrected – that transforms us, transfigures us, from the inside out.

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    For us, for you, on a hard wooden pew or sitting in a church basement… As we prepare to enter the season of Lent, as we trade the bright light of epiphany and journey toward the cross, we are blessed because we get to experience this journey in light of the transfiguration, as we journey toward the light of the resurrection. The way the means of Grace work, is they reveal to us the person and work of Jesus for us. Beholding his glory on the mountain, and then on the cross, and then in the empty tomb, that all of this is done for us, that is what ultimately changes us as the hymn says, “from glory into glory.”
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    13 mins
  • Be Still and Know | The Crescendo of Light - February 5, 2023

    Be Still and Know | The Crescendo of Light - February 5, 2023
    Feb 6 2023
    The darkness of our world pushes those who feel isolated, alone, or forgotten further into the shadows, where it can seemingly feel impossible to see or experience and source of hope – a source of light.

    Rev. Fleming Rutledge wrote, “Jesus is calling us to let our light shine in a world often shrouded in darkness. Our good works, acts of kindness and compassion, can bring light into the lives of those around us.”The things we do in the church – the hymns we sing, the meals we share, the sacraments, the mission work, the committee, and council meetings – are not things we do to make ourselves feel better or to check a box on the list of good things we are supposed to do. No, what we do here matters because, in everything we do – in the hymns, meals, sacraments, mission work, and yes, even the meetings – we are bearing the light of Christ into a world in desperate need of light.

    Being bears of the light of the world makes us a source of hope and positivity, even in difficult and trying times, because our world can feel hopeless and dark. But, when we step out, of this physical space and out of the comfort of our preferences and desires, we are beacons of hope, beacons of light, shining the grace of Jesus Christ for all to see.

    Martin Luther King Jr. reminds us, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”The good news for us and the world is that the light we bear is not our own; thus, our effectiveness is not entirely up to us. The yous in Jesus’ “you are” is singular, yes, but it is also plural. We “are the light of the world” because we have been formed by Christ, because Christ sustains us, and because we are sent into the world in the name of Christ.

    We are not doing this on our own. Christ is with us, before and after us.

    The light shines in the darkness, sings the psalmist, “They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.” We get to be a part of the grand crescendo of God’s kingdom-building work in the world, but more urgently in the dark corners of our community. This sounds like a mighty, seemingly impossible task, but by God’s grace, a light shines from within us, even on those days when the world's chaos appears to have the upper hand.

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    12 mins
  • Be Still and Know | Belovedness - January 8, 2023

    Be Still and Know | Belovedness - January 8, 2023
    Jan 9 2023
    January 8, 2023
    Matthew 3:13-17

    Baptism is not reserved for those who have unwavering faith, those who perfectly understand the church's doctrines, or those who have accomplished every act of works righteousness declared to be required by someone wearing a robe or headset attached to a mic pack. The “belovedness” bestowed upon the baptized is for everyone.

    Every single one of us.

    For those we forget or say are unworthy.

    For those in the cheap seats and those who sit in the front row.

    For the scoundrels and losers.

    For the sinners and saints.

    Your “belovedness” is to be celebrated with childlike wonder and awe.

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    14 mins
  • God’s Perfect Time - January 1, 2023

    God’s Perfect Time - January 1, 2023
    Jan 1 2023
    Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

    For all our strengths and abilities are not gods and will never know the right time. The best we can do is mark time in the ways Jesus instructed us: in worship, around Christ’s table, and in remembering that the author of time has called each of us beloved, forgiven, and free. The good news is this – wherever we are headed this year, in the seasons that lay ahead of us, we are held in the hands of God, and by God’s grace it will be well.

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    13 mins
  • Storyteller | It’s All in the Details - December 24, 2022

    Storyteller | It’s All in the Details - December 24, 2022
    Dec 26 2022
    As far back as I remember, the Christmas story has not changed. A mash-up of Luke and Matthew’s accounts is etched into my mind: Mary and Joseph are both greeted by the angel Gabriel, wise men traversing a far, shepherds keeping their flocks by night, no room in the inn, and the manger. Oh yeah, and sweet baby Jesus. I could tell you the story and leave out one or two parts, and you wouldn’t miss a beat. Everyone knows this story.

    Every year, regardless of national or global events – during war and peacetime; before a pandemic and during; as a child, adult, or slightly older adult – the story is read, “pageanted” and preached around the world. We did this last year and the year before, albeit online, we are doing it tonight, and if I did the math correctly, we will do this again in 365 days.

    So, what is it about the story of the birth of the Messiah that brings us back year after year?

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    17 mins
  • Storyteller | A Griswold Family Advent - December 11, 2022

    Storyteller | A Griswold Family Advent - December 11, 2022
    Dec 11 2022
    The turkey will be dry.
    Your end-of-the-year bonus may come in the form of a jelly subscription you did not want.
    The relatives you dread seeing will overstay their welcome.
    And, that powder room appliance might be full.

    No matter how much we try to avoid the broken and messiness of the world and our lives, the birth of Joseph’s boy tells creation that we are not separated from God.

    Our story is not Jesus’ story; instead, Jesus takes the world's story, our Sin – our the messy side of ourselves that we try to hide during the holidays – upon himself.
    The peace we want on earth, the peace we will attempt to create for ourselves is here, through the grace of God, through a child, through a family as messed up as mine or yours.
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    14 mins