Rev. Zach

Romans 10:8b-13      Luke 4:1-13 Today is Valentine’s Day, formerly known as the feast of St. Valentine. The internets have been flooded with Valentine memes over the last few days – those silly pictures with a witty phrase. People more clever than I have turned everything from dictators to sci-fi characters into kitschy fake Valentine cards. One of my favorites is the picture of the aforementioned saint with the caption, “Rose are red, Violets are blue. I was beaten with clubs and buried in darkness [there’s actually more to the legend than that] and you commemorate my martyrdom by sending each other chocolates.” Now, as for me and my beloved, we have never really celebrated this holiday – by mutual agreement. Primarily that’s because flowers that will soon die and trinkets that will never be worn are not the way we express our appreciation for one another. Expressions of love that are mass marketed, conveniently packaged, and socially expected just aren’t our thi...

Nehemiah 8:1-10       1 Corinthians 12:12-31a       Luke 4:14-21 Have you ever had one of those moments when it was confirmed deep within your soul that what you were doing was wrong? I don’t mean simple mistakes. I’m talking about realizing that some of your actions – or even patterns of behavior – are entirely disconnected from your values. All of us have some moment like that – some dark night of the soul – if we live long enough, or at least I hope that we do. Otherwise we may never see ways to correct our imperfections and truly become what we have been created to become. Otherwise we might live our lives like a spare part and never know it. Most of us have drawers full of those little parts that we hold on to because they might be useful someday – an extra screw or one of those weird little rubber things that went to a shelf, or a desk, or something. The Israelites in today’s passage were certainly confronted with the idea that they had been less th...

Malachi 3:1-4      Philippians 1:3-11      Luke 3:1-6 Well, you’ve survived another Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday. Some of us ignore these days. Some of us embrace them. A colleague and friend recently noted a theological response his session made to these attempts to frame our experiences of consumerism and generosity. They resolved to call last Wednesday, “Give it a rest Wednesday.” In like manner, today could be called “messenger Sunday”. Our Old Testament reading is from Malachi, whose name means, “my messenger.” Our New Testament reading from Philippians is a message of love and hope from Paul, and our Gospel reading is confirmation that John is the one preparing the way of the Lord as promised in Isaiah. We hear this same message about this time every year, and I think that – if we aren’t careful – it can become like the Christmas music in the shopping mall. We hear it, but we don’t listen. It makes us feel good to know it’s there, ...

Joel 2:23-32      Psalm 65:1-13       2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18      Luke 18:9-14 What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word, “libation?” I hate to admit it, but the first thing that pops into my head is a song from the Gangsta’ Rapper Tupac Shakur. He was part of a violent sub-culture birthed from poverty and expressed through poetry, movement, and film. Only shortly before his life was claimed by the society that he spoke out against from the inside, he sent a message to the masses by pouring a cherished bottle of take-home pay on the ground to honor his dead friends and loved ones. Hip-hop may not be your thing – but the concept of giving over something you value in honor of something you value even more is something with which we all need to be challenged. We can laugh about Tupac’s example, but those affected by inner city violence understood what he meant. They understood the message that life matters. I wish that m...

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7        2 Timothy 2:8-15        Luke 17:11-19   As we approach all Hallow’s Eve and All Saint’s Day, we find ourselves in the midst of another season in the rhythm of life in these United States. You may think that I am talking about Fundraising Season, but that is not exactly what I had in mind. Of course this is the time when every non-profit organization from public and Christian radio stations to organizations that promote physical health and social well being are hunting for donors. If you have ever supported any cause then this is the time of year that every communication device you use seems to have a target on it. The church is, of course, complicit in the mix – yet we do have the audacity to suggest that we should come first. For most of my life, that argument has been boiled down to, “because the Bible says so,” even though there is a lot that the Bible says to do that we simply do not do. I think the question th...

Genesis 3:1-13      Psalm 12:1-8      Romans 12:20-21       Luke 11:2-4 “Eve Was Framed!” At least that’s what it said on a bumper sticker I saw some time ago. It was right next to one that said, “Question Authority”. I thought of these at the time – and remember them today – as signs of the times. The world used to be understood in relative absolutes. Right was right and wrong was wrong. There was no grey area in between – at least that is the way it seemed. And yet attitudes about the limitations of women and minorities live on from time before time, and many of these find their root in the story of forbidden fruit in an enchanted garden with a talking serpent. Still, to say that Eve was framed and that we should question authority may even sound like an invitation to evil itself, but I would say that these statements are instead a call to greater and deeper faith. Without going too far into the concept of feminine evi...

 Debts or Trespasses? Numbers 14:18        Psalms 32:1-11       2 Corinthians 5:16-21        Matthew 6:9-15 One of my favorite moments in ecumenical worship is the train wreck between traditions over debts and trespasses during the Lord’s prayer. I like it because it is an uncomfortable space that forces us to recognize the division in the Body of Christ and the space that division creates for the movement of God’s Holy Spirit. That uncomfortable space leads me to wonder how often we robotically recite that portion of the prayer, and how often we deeply consider what it truly means to forgive and be forgiven of our debts – whatever that means. Let’s begin by getting the language of debts and trespasses out of the way. I’ll also ask the historians among us to forgive this brief and crude brushstroke of history. In the fourth century of the Common Era, the Latin Vulgate – translated from original manuscripts by St. Jer...

It’s All Providence  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8       Philippians 4:4-7         Luke 11:1-4 There are certain words and catch phrases that creep into our vocabulary from time to time. Every generation has them. These words and phrases usually stick around, retaining some significance but never really meaning what they once did – except to the generation or social group that first claimed them. You probably know what I am talking about – words like fine (or real fine), cool, hip, groovy, and awesome. Phrases like “the buzz,” or “I’m blessed,” or “It’s all good” are like this, too. Sometimes the words or phrases sound silly or even offensive to new ears. For example, some of you may remember me telling you about a friend in a rural town who was told that his sermon was awful and later realized it meant filled with awe or inspired. These buzz words and catch phrases are important to us, because they locate us. They state what matters to us in the...

                                                             Hallowed Be Thy Name  Isaiah 58:1-12       Romans 15:1-6       Mathew 6:5-15 Today begins a sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer. We call it the Lord’s Prayer because it is the only prayer prescribed by Jesus in scripture. As we begin a new season in the church with new classes, and as we continue to think about and talk about a new understanding of our calling as a faith community – that’s what it means to redefine our mission – it seems a position of prayer is a good place to start. I think prayer is a good place to start because it seems intimidating to say that we need to redifine our mission. It seems confrontational to say that we need to become transformed into something new. Yet that is the calling of Christian faith – a lif...

                                                                         Hospitality                           Jeremiah 2:4-13           Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16          Luke 14:1, 7-14 We’ve barely made it to labor day and the posturing of obsessed sports fans (yes that is technically redundant) condemning the actions of their opponents and all of their descendants has exploded accross the internet through the wonder of social media. I’m sure there have been banquets and festivals throughout the land as we begin the holy season of football worship. Call that sarcasm if you will, but I would argue that football as a sport is a center of value for our culture. It comm...

Jeremiah 1:4-10       Psalm 71:1-6        Hebrews 12:18-29        Luke 13:10-17 Well, it’s soccer season again, or it’s about to be. I have been coaching my son’s team for three seasons, and it looks like this is the first season that we will have most of the same players as the previous season – even though the last season was our least successful. I’m hopeful for a good season, and I’m learning a lot from these boys. Mostly I am remembering things that I have forgotten. Not just technical skills, but things like the idea that a great effort is a success. These kids don’t have the technical skills figured out yet, and so a good effort means a good result. It would be nice if more of the world worked that way. I’m not saying that we should not try to achieve results, or that working harder is better than working smarter. I am saying that sometimes we put so much emphasis on results that we forget about the reasons that motiva...