Rev. Zach

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4       Ephesians 1:11-23        Luke 6:20-31 Although the landscape of North American literature is not quite as littered by self-help materials as it may have been in recent years, the “How To” and the “Idiot’s Guide To” Just About Anything You Never Wanted to Know, are still out there. In fact I would say that our general orientation has been slightly skewed to include looking for a step by step guide instead of thinking critically and problem solving. Perhaps that is nothing new. The words of Habakkuk were written in a time when people wanted to know how and why they were experiencing misfortune. They wanted to know how God could be involved in it, or to at least be given a reason why God wasn’t. And God tells Habakkuk to write the vision. “Write the vision? You don’t know what the vision is? All right. Wait for it…it’ll come.” That’s what the Lord tells Habakkuk. In the verses that follow, there is a bit more de...

Sermon Delivered on 11/04/12  Isaiah 25:1-10 Revelation 21:1-6 John 11:1-45 Well, it seems we have made it through the historical time of warding off evil spirits by spending around 2.4 billion on candy and around 8 billion in holiday related items. You can champion industry or you can challenge excess, but those are the numbers according the Christian Science Monitor . As we all find ways to discretely consume or get rid of the spoils of All Hallows Eve, we are presented today with the opportunity of All Saint’s Day. In some ways this day began an attempt to Christianize the pagan celebrations of All Hallows Eve. In some ways – I believe – it also became a way to make sure none of the Saints were left out. As Christianity spread through the West and martyrs and inspiring souls became known as sources of faith, certain saints may not have been known in certain other regions. The term, Saint, also became more of a title than a category. In his letters, Paul refers to the Saint...

How does one write a sermon for All Saints Day on while one's grandmother is teetering on the brink of eternity in the hospital? [This is not an actual sermon. I just had to express some thoughts before they consumed me. Many of them will probably make it into the sermon, but not all.]  Last minute sermon writing aside (get over it, 90% of us do it about 95% of the time), this is definitely one of those times that is difficult to separate personal feelings from proclamation. Margaret Johnson Sasser – a.k.a. Mom – is 92 and lives with relative independence. She has an attendant, whom she regularly kicks out. Last Thursday night she fell and broke her hip as a result of her independence. I do not fault her for this. I admire her for it. Last night she had hip surgery, which was also risky because she has a faulty heart valve. It seems reasonable to say that she has a weak heart – unless you know her. She was given 6 months to live about 2.5 years ago. She was a pioneer among women ...

First Presbyterian Church – Lafayette, Louisiana November 6, 2011 – All Saints Day / Ordinary (32A) Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Matthew 25:1-13 Do you enjoy a good riddle? I’m not very good at them, but I like riddles – especially if I already know the answer. In the classic tale of The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins finds himself in a battle of wits with a nasty creature named Gollum, and he almost looses his life over this one: This thing all things devours: Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal; Slays king, ruins town And beats high mountains down. The answer? Time. Oh, if we only had enough time. Time is about the only thing (other than money) that can make us feel utterly and totally limited. Even so, I believe there is a certain amount of grace in our limitations. Garrett Hedlund wrote a song about this idea called Timing Is Everything, and it starts like this: When the stars line up, and you catch a good break, and people think ...