humanity

October 16, 2016 ~ “I Confess – Standing Where the Lord Stands” from John Knox Kirk on Vimeo.

I Confess: Standing Where the Lord Stands.

A sermon preached at The Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on October 16, 2016.

Then Jesus told them a parable
about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.

He said,
‘In a certain city there was a judge
a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.
And in that city there was a widow
who kept coming to the judge saying,
“Grant me justice against my opponent.”

For a while he refused; but later he said to himself,
“Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone,
yet because this widow keeps bothering me,
I will grant her justice,
so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” ’

And the Lord said,
‘Listen to what the unjust judge says.
And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones
who cry to him day and night?
Will he delay long in helping them?

I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.
And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’

And may God bless our reading
and our understanding
and our applying these words, to how we live our lives. Amen.

///
Jesus speaks most powerfully to us when he speaks in Parables
These quirky, pointed, imaginative stories that Jesus weaves.

These parables of Jesus are perhaps the best examples of
how Jesus is a teacher:
trying to help us learn about who God is and what God is doing.

You’ll note that Jesus rarely lectures.
He doesn’t offer three points and an illustration.

Instead, he chooses these little stories.

The parables are all about the Kingdom of God that Jesus gives witness to.
A reality where God’s values are our values
God’s concerns, are our concerns.

In this Kingdom,
we learn who are neighbor is, and that we’re asked to care for her
when she is wounded, when she is hurting
even when others cross the street
to avoid the shame or the blame of doing so.

In this Kingdom,
we learn that God keeps the light on,
even for the child who has left for another country, another Kingdom
squandering all the wealth of his inheritance
and that when the child returns, if the wayward child returns
that God, with such a wild, overflowing, prodigal love
runs to greet him and throws a party
and cries tears of joy for the lost one newly found.

In this Kingdom,
we learn that a widow presses her concerns for justice
and she presses
and she presses
and she presses….for she knows that righteousness is on her side
and unlike this realm
where judges may not care for justice
may not attend to truth
may only relent due to pressure or weariness or prudence
in God’s realm, says our text for the day
God will not delay
not in God’s new world.

///
Jesus speaks most powerfully to us when he speaks in Parables. [Read more…]

October 2, 2016 ~ “I Confess – A Place Called Belhar, We Are One” from John Knox Kirk on Vimeo.

I Confess: A Place Called Belhar, We Are One.

A sermon preached at The Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on October 02, 2016.

Luke 10:25-37
and Galatians 3:23-28

The Confession of Belhar

“Love One Another” by Laura James (www.laurajamesart.com)

I was surprised how many off-color Confession jokes I found this week
while working on this sermon.
Shame on us.

But here’s one, maybe the cleanest one I could find:
Its about Joe, who was from a tradition that practiced regular confession
and so Joe went up at the appointed time
and he entered the confessional and met with his priest.

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.
I have been wonton with my affection for women. Many women.

“Oh no” says the Priest.
Thinking about how to counsel the young man.

“Tell me, son” he says “Was it with Marie Brown”?
I’d rather not say, Father.

“Well, was it with Betsy Smith?”
I’m sorry Father. I don’t want to besmirch their reputations.

So the Priest offers him absolution and sends him on his way.

Joe leaves, and runs into a good friend as he turns the corner away from the parish.
Hey Joe: how’d it go? Did you receive absolution for your sins?

Why yes, yes I did. And two very, very good leads….

///
I Confess.

Perhaps the most popular use of the word Confession in our common history
by that I mean the History of the Christian Faith,
its weaving through time, its ups and its downs,
perhaps the most popular use of that word Confession was by Saint Augustine.

Augustine was a giant figure of the early church.
He was born in Northern Africa, near modern day Algeria, in the fourth century,
and he became, perhaps, the most influential scholar of early Christianity.

He wrote about Politics in The City of God.
He explored topics such as the Trinity, Original Sin, and Just War Theory.
Perhaps my favorite thing about Augustine
is that he is the patron saint of
“brewers, printers, theologians, and the alleviation of sore-eyes.”
–That sort of saint could be helpful.

The book he wrote, The Confessions of Saint Augustine, is the best seller of the bunch.
It was largely autobiography.
It told the story of Augustine’s wild and turbulent childhood
his experience of temptation, fall, and Grace
and then his overwhelming experience of the care and compassion of God. [Read more…]

Sermon: I Confess–Standing Where the Lord Stands

Sermon: I Confess–A Place Called Belhar, We are One

Miscellany

Recent Posts

Follow me on Twitter