Christ Lutheran Church Harrisburg

God isn't loud.  God is often hidden, but very present and active.  The book of Esther shows us what living faithfully means in a practical sense.  And on this weekend of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, it also reminds us that the Good News is not that America is great or doomed.  Instead, the Good News is that God acts and the people society walks past survive.  The read...

In Ruth 2 we hear about Ruth gleaning in the field.  And Boaz goes beyond the requirements of the law.  Gleaning isn't just a way to provide for the poor and marginalized.  Gleaning also raises a question as to why there are poor among the community in the first place and what are we called to do in light of that reality.  The sermon is in response to Ruth 2:1-23

We're starting a sermon series on the book of Ruth.  Ruth's story is full of difficulties and blessings.  And through it all, Ruth remains faithful.  Given our own circumstances of difficulties, the book of Ruth offers us Good News.  The sermon is based on Ruth 1:1-22.

The story of Pentecost is familiar to Christians.  The Spirit comes in ways that cannot be ignored.  Some respond with excuses.  Maybe it's fear, maybe it's not wanting to deal with a new reality.  Others respond by asking an honest question - what does this mean?  When the Spirit shows up, new life shows up.  New opportunities show up.  The sermon is based on Acts 2:1-21.

This past weekend, two gatherings of Christians came together.  One focused on dominion and domination, using religion to impose upon others.  The other focused on the question of how we love our neighbor.  Paul's letter to the church in Philippi reminds us that the Lord we serve emptied himself to love others, not dominate them.  The sermon is based on Philippians 2:1-13.

Paul's letter to the Philippians is his most joyful letter in spite of his circumstances of being imprisoned.  In some ways, Paul's world is like our alone - power arrangements designed to make you feel alone and that there is no hope.  Yet, Paul reminds us that we are never alone, regardless of the circumstances.  The sermon is in response to Philippians 1:1-18a.  

In our reading we hear about the calling of Saul to proclaim the Gospel.  There's plenty of pre-call Saul energy in the world right now.  It's the reliance on certainty and control.  And it is destructive.  And Jesus interrupts this, offering Saul a new path forward.  And he does the same for each of us.  The sermon is based on Acts 9:1-19.

The Resurrected Jesus shows up in spite of locked doors.  He offers peace.  And he still has wounds.  But those wounds don't get the final say.  Jesus shows up in spite of our own locked doors, bearing wounds because he knows our wounds too.  And offers a different path forward.  The sermon is based on John 20:19-31.

Everyone's in the dark on Easter morning. Even when the witnesses see the empty tomb, they still don't really get it.  Until Jesus says Mary's name.  Then she can actually see Jesus.  Jesus calls us by name too so that we can also see him where we are.  The Gospel is based on John 20:1-18.

On the first Palm Sunday, two processions came into Jerusalem with conflicting understandings of power.  One believed in the peace of Rome of peace through strength.  The other was embodied by Jesus of peace through presence.  The Passion narrative puts those two understandings on full display - a peace through violence, and a peace in spite of violence.  The sermon is based on John 18-19.  

The world tries to tell us that everything is fine.  But it isn't.  The Narrative Lectionary takes us to John 19 and the condemning of Jesus for crucifixion.  No one looks good in the story.  The cross doesn't expose Jesus.  The cross exposes everyone else and all the arrangements of power that exist.  Jesus is a mirror and the people didn't like what they saw reflected back.  The sermon is based...

The world says one thing and does another.  It will even use religion to get what it wants.  It will cloak itself in talk about purity and holiness, all while plotting to kill.  Jesus' way is different from that.  There's no hiding with Jesus.  No spin.  Just the truth.  The sermon is based on John 18:28-40.  

John's Gospel moves us to the Last Supper.  Jesus washes the disciples' feet.  That includes Judas who will betray him.  He doesn't attack Judas preemptively.  He washes his feet instead in an act of love.  Because it's not about changing his enemy's heart or mind.  Jesus does it to remain who he is.  The sermon is based on John 13:1-17

The story of the raising of Lazarus is full of waiting, mourning, and resurrection.  And we can't get to resurrection, until we go through the waiting and the mourning.  The sermon is based on John 11:1-44.

The further away from the seat of power, the easier it is to see Jesus.  Proximity to power has a way of blurring our view of Jesus and his way.  In this Sunday's Gospel, we hear about a royal official who leaves his position to call on Jesus because power doesn't heal.  But Jesus does.  The sermon is based on John 4:46-54.  

The Gospel of John starts and ends with conflict and has episodes of conflict all along the way.  In John 4, Jesus walks away from conflict with the Pharisees because it isn't the right time and their hearts are closed.  Instead, he walks into long standing conflict in Samaria because there is an opportunity for transformation.  With Jesus, conflict isn't ignored.  It is managed.  The people in it...

John 2 tells us about Jesus cleansing the Temple, taking place at the beginning of his public ministry.  Jesus is acknowledging what many others wouldn't - that there was an open wound causing harm to people and in need of cleansing and healing.  Likewise, we have many open wounds that need to be acknowledged and dealt with, rather than turning and looking away.  The sermon is based on John 2:13-2...

John's Gospel is so very unique.  It slows everything down.  Jesus' big first appearance is at an unnamed wedding where he trying to keep attention away from himself, and the impact is small.  John is presenting Jesus as something different than what people expect.  A counter to the culture, a resistance to the powers and their ways.  The main resistance being joy.  The sermon is based on John 2:1...

Jesus doesn't chase.  He doesn't demand certainty.  He isn't interested in control.  Yet so much of Christianity today seems to want what Jesus rejected.  Instead Jesus just says "Come and see."  Because he recognizes that transformation comes through invitation.  The sermon is based on John 1:35-51.

Human's love to claim that God supports their ideas, politics, and economic systems.  But that's just not the case.  God's economy operates on a different set of measures and with different goals.  And it has to do with the wellbeing of all.  God's economy runs on abundance - there is enough to share freely.  The sermon is based on Isaiah 55:1-13.  

We live in a society that is really good at avoiding hard truths.  God puts Ezekiel in a valley of dry bones because you can't resurrect when you won't recognize death.  God gives Ezekiel and the exiled people of Israel hope.  Hope is proclaimed in the midst of devastation.  The words are spoken, breath is given, and action follows.  The sermon is based on Ezekiel 37:1-14.  

Jeremiah proclaims a message of hope to people in exile.  And it's not fluffy rhetoric.  It's the hard truth combined with hope - They aren't going anywhere for a while, so stop waiting to live life.  Live your lives.  Hope happens in actions taken every day.  Hope doesn't exist outside of fear - hope speaks in the midst of it.  And hope causes us to act.  The sermon is based on Jeremiah 29:1, 4-1...

Isaiah is a prophet who names the reality for what it is and offers hope in the midst of horror.  Hope doesn't wait until everything is well.  It speaks into the horror declaring that it doesn't have to be this way, there is another way that God is taking us.  Like Amos, Isaiah would probably feel right at home in America in 2025.  The sermon is based on Isaiah 9:1-7.

The Old Testament Prophet Amos had a message that could not be ignored.  It certainly wasn't liked by those in positions of power and those exploiting the poor. But it couldn't be ignored.  In many ways, Amos' message would find a home in the US in 2025.  The sermon is based on portions of Amos, Chapters 1 and 5.

The world and its empires and kingdoms all operate on the same playbook - oppression, exhaustion, division.  But God has a different playbook.  We see how this plays out in 1 Kings 19 when we encounter an exhausted Elijah who is afraid and running for his life.  God gives him rest and renewal.