Waxing Theological

11-22-15 (Christ the King Sunday, Year B) 1 Samuel 1:4-20; Mark 13:1-8 Who Is Your King? (2015) As we come to the end of another liturgical year and look ahead to the start of Advent next Sunday, I don’t know about anybody else, but find myself already starting to feel worn out and weary.  Each week seems over before it even begins, and in the midst of the rush that happens this time of year, we also find ourselves as a nation and as a people in a state of perpetual alertness and outrage that just seems to move from one thing to another without even a break to rest, to catch our breath, or to process anything.  We are caught up in a deluge of information and situations, each battling for us to form some kind of opinion, to take some sort of stand, to be involved in one way or another, whether emotionally, actively, or otherwise. There are things that deserve honest and discerning conversations, both in our churches and in our governing bodies.  With th...

In the last week since the attacks that devastated Paris and the subsequent discussion of terrorism, refugees, and ISIS, I've seen a lot of different things. A lot of it has been, quite frankly, disturbing. Some of the attitudes and opinions I've seen flung across social media have been nothing short of direct historical echoes to the 1940's as we battled Germany in the second World War - politicians are seriously suggesting we completely close our borders, refuse asylum to Syrian refugees, and even go so far as to deport those refugees that are already in the country. Others have even gone so far to suggest that Muslim mosques should be placed under government surveillance and that Muslim adherents themselves should even be registered, possibly even being asked to carry a special form of identification to assist in "national security."   On the other side, there are people posting a multitude of arguments that we should be even more welcoming than before to Syri...

11-15-15 (Proper 28/Ordinary 33 B Semi-Continuous) 1 Samuel 1:4-20; Mark 13:1-8 Comfort in the Promise I started out this week with a sermon well set in my head and ready to go.  And then I started looking at the commentaries and seeing all the things going on in our own back yard with the student protests at Mizzou.  A whole new sermon started to take shape for me, so I started writing something different.  And then Friday night happened.  We started to hear the news coming in of the pure tragedy occurring in Paris, the count of people lost rising higher and higher as the evening continued on.  And now we’re hearing about further tragedies in Kenya, in Beirut, in Lebanon, and in Baghdad  And once more, I found myself sitting down to start over again. As we gather together this morning, we gather as a people who have a much greater perspective on both of the readings we’ve just heard today.  We know the pain and anguish that Hannah br...

To the Church - the big C, body of Christ, Church Universal church: I'm a pastor - those of you reading this post probably know that already.  I put my sermons up here and sometimes write about theology and other things that I decide to write about when the muse hits me upside the head.  And those of you who know me and who've read enough of this blog know that I'm also a dad. I am the dad of two amazing children - as I type this right now, one of them is 4 and the other is 16 months.  And every day is a new experience, a new adventure, a new opportunity to see my children learn, grow, and develop.  Each day comes with new surprises, new delights, and yes, new challenges for my wife and I as we learn about our children, who they are, what they're growing to be, and how we can love them, care for them, and help them succeed and grow in this world. It's great to see these two kids growing up from my viewpoint as a pastor, too - I love to see how they're gro...

11-8-15 (Proper 27/Ordinary 32 B, Semi-Continuous) Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17; Mark 12:38-44 My Two Cents’ Worth I like to people watch.  It’s gotten to be something of a hobby over the years, walking through malls and other places and seeing the different kinds of people who wander about.  Sometimes, when I see some people who are particularly interesting, my mind invents little narratives for them - why they walk with such a sad air, what’s causing them to whistle “What a Wonderful World” as they walk down the sidewalk, why they seem so intent on getting to where they’re going.  So it’s interesting to sit alongside Jesus here in this passage and people-watch with him at the temple.  Imagine the kinds of interesting people that Jesus must have seen - each one approaching the trumpet-shaped offering receptacles with the coins that make their tithe.  Up comes a scribe, who reaches into his pocket, takes a few thick gold coins with Caesar’s head engraved on t...

10-25-15 (Proper 25/Ordinary 30 B, Semi-Continuous) Psalm 34; Mark 10:46-52 It’s the Little Things The musical, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” takes a number of classic strips from Charles M. Schultz’ Peanuts and adapts them to the stage.  We follow Charlie Brown and the gang through a number of different scenes and mis-adventures before coming to the end of the day.  In the final scene of the show, Charlie Brown walks on stage with a pencil dropped by his ever-elusive “little red-headed girl.”  He comments, “I’m so happy!  That little red-headed girl dropped her pencil.”  He observes that it has teeth-marks all over it and that she chews her pencil, then his face lights up as he realizes and exclaims “She’s human!”  and then muses that it hasn’t been such a bad day after all.  The closing song of the show is then all of the characters singing the song “Happiness,” which lists all the things that they think happiness is: finding a pen...