global affairs

A sermon preached at John Knox Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on September 14, 2014.

Romans 14:1-12
and Exodus 14:19-31
(Click above link for the Scripture texts upon which this sermon is based)

Ed. note: as mentioned in the sermon copy, the majority of this sermon is from a draft of Marci Glass‘s sermon “Speed of Trust,” for Southminster Presbyterian Church of Boise, preached on September 14, 2014. Grateful for Marci’s willingness to share her ideas with me and, in this instance, to allow me to adopt and adapt her words for my context. All good credit, of course, belongs to her.

Ancient Stories.

We’ve examined so many of them, it seems,

during this rather quick dash through Genesis and Exodus

that we began way back in June:

Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael,

framing our story as one of trust in God

even when we see bears all around us…

Then Isaac, being bound and then set free

and the promise of a family, a future…

The birth of the twins Esau and Jacob

and Jacob’s conniving, sneaky efforts

to secure both a birthright and a blessing…

Jacob and God wrestling at Penuel, where

Jacob is renamed Israel

the one who wrestles with God, and lives!

Jacob and his eleven boys,

including Joseph, sold to Egypt

master of the harvest, of dreams,

of redemption…

And now once in Egypt, this story of the forming

of not just a family but of a people, a nation

by the God who hears the cries

of the oppressed and alienated.

Maybe its fitting to conclude our focus

on these ancient stories right here,

with Moses and Aaron and the people

on the verge of the wilderness, their future before them

at the Red Sea.

Now, I had been reading and pondering this story all week

how Moses warned Pharaoh: let my people go

and he didn’t, and so God ratchets up the pressure

and in a divine tête-à-tête with the King of Egypt

God forces Pharaoh to send the Hebrew people away

and away they go, 600,000 of them, the menfolk at least

and many more women and children

and cattle and dogs and cats and all the rest

so many more than a million people and their stuff

middle of the night, they’re off.

And Pharaoh is stubborn. Man, is he stubborn.

Because even after ALL of the plagues, all the humiliation

he can’t let them go. He just can’t.

He’s going to make them pay, and so he goes after them

with all his chariots and his things of war.

And so we are here, in something of a final confrontation

since the Passover wasn’t enough. Apparently.

I was pondering this story

when my friend and fellow pastor Marci Glass

sent me her reflections on it

and I think she has just the right words for us today,

an important thing for us to think about

as we transition away from these stories:[i] [Read more…]

A sermon preached at John Knox Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on June 22, 2014.

Romans 6:1-11
and Genesis 21:8-21

Not that long ago, Greg Garrett spent a weekend lecturing and preaching

in Cody, Wyoming.

His hosts built in time so he could take

a long hike in Yellowstone National Park.

Greg Garrett is a novelist, a professor of English at Baylor University,

and a licensed lay preacher in the Episcopal Church.

But knowing that he was going hiking ALONE on a bear-laden trail,

they warned Garrett about the Swiss hiker

who had been eaten, on that very trail.

Only prudent, you know.

But that warning affected his whole Yellowstone experience.

On his hike, he saw bears everywhere:

this stump,

that clump of grass,

those shadows deep in the forest.

Bears.

Bears everywhere. He was so jumpy thinking he was seeing all those bears,

it was hard for him to enjoy the amazing views around him.

In fact, he didn’t notice the views at all—

–just lots and lots and lots of things that looked like bears.

Garrett reflects:

“From the news we consume,

to the opinions we hold,

to the pain we feel,

and the preoccupations we share—

–in today’s world:

if you’re looking for bears,

you will most certainly see bears.

…But, bears may be ALL you see.”

Garrett was speaking about his last six years studying the

emotional, spiritual, and theological responses

to the events of the past decade, beginning with 9/11.

Among the many conclusions he draws from his research is that

our culture has spent a decade plus warning us about BEARS.

As a result, people of faith come to God’s promises,

but DON’T experience those promises—

–INSTEAD “we see bears everywhere”

because we expect to find them there.[i]

[Read more…]

Sermon: Ancient Stories–Who Leads Us, Even Through Scary Places

Sermon: Ancient Stories–Who Comes in Times of Trouble