Waxing Theological

10-30-16 (Reformation Sunday, Proper 26 C Semi-Continuous) Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4; Luke 19:1-10 Little People, Big Things There’s an aspect of sermon preparation that is both a blessing and a curse, sometimes.  Each week, one of the most sacred, most important things that we’re supposed to do as pastors is to take the texts for the week, to delve into them and live with them for a period of time, to listen to what they have to say - both to us and to you as a congregation - and to determine how best to communicate that word from God to a particular people in a particular place and at a particular time.  We’re given this incredible opportunity to really wrestle with the texts, to dig into the various meanings and interpretations that are out there, to look at the commentaries and hear the thoughts and musings of people who have devoted their entire professional lives to the meticulous study of these gospels in every little detail, so that when they tell us that the G...

10-23-16 (Proper 25/Ordinary 30 Year C Semi-Continuous) Joel 2:23-32; Luke 18:9-14 Two Sinners Walk Into A Temple Two sinners walk into a temple.  It sounds like the start of a joke, but it’s actually the start of the next of Jesus’ parables that Luke introduces in his gospel.  Except - if you listen to the story the way the characters tell it, it only seems like one sinner walks into the temple, even though there are two men introduced. We peek in first at the Pharisee - it’s pretty clear that he’s full of himself, if nothing else.  And yet his resumé is pretty impressive, nevertheless - if we’re being completely honest here, at least at the surface level, he’s the kind of church member we all wish we had at least 50 or 60 of: he tithes 10% of his income to help the temple meet its yearly needs; he fasts twice a week and engages in good spiritual practices.  Bring him into the church today and I’m sure he’d be the first one rushing to the nominatin...

Just a quick note before the sermon itself: I want to apologize that sermons haven't been posted to the blog (nor anything else for that matter) for quite some time now - blogging and journaling have never been a strong suit of mine, and so I'm thankful to folks who are willing to help keep me accountable to this practice!  If you happen to be someone who reads this blog even somewhat regularly when I manage to post, feel free to get in touch with me and let me know if I'm falling behind again. -JM 10-16-16 (Proper 24/Ordinary 29 C, Semi-Continuous) Jeremiah 31:27-34; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8 Persistent in Faith You know, it’s hard to have your birthday in December.  This time of year used to be one of the most frustrating times for me when I was growing up - and I know it sounds silly, especially looking back on it as an adult, but it used to drive me so crazy once we hit about halfway through October and then into November.  We’d be in t...