Rev. Zach

Isaiah 9:2-7, Luke 2:1-15  It looks like we are ready for the party! The tree is up with Chrismons (monograms of Christ). We have a few new ornaments on there this year. One of them is a picture of the church. I think that passes as a “monogram of Christ,” don’t you? At least I hope we are a symbol of God’s redemptive love that points to Jesus. We aren’t perfect, but we’re working on it.  Let’s see, what else do we have? Our manger scene is all set now; of course, the Magi are still on their way – you may have seen them hanging out in the narthex – because wise people seek him still, right? Also, it’s not Epiphany yet, so they’ll get here in a few weeks. We have our poinsettias in place. The food is ready…we’ll get to that in a bit.  Now, that reminds me – what are we celebrating? I realize that seems a little silly to ask, but I think we sometimes forget that there is more to the story than the manger scene and the birthday party that we have turned the celebration of th...

Luke 1:39-58 I’d like to begin with an exercise to expand our awareness of the love that holds us in this space. I want to invite you to take a moment to become aware of your body. Be sure that your feet are on the ground. Uncross yourself if you must. Consider the feeling in your limbs and hands. Be aware of the air around you. Take a breath and consider how it is cooler as it enters your body than when it leaves. If your tongue is pressed to the roof of your mouth, let it drop to the bottom. Just breathe and be present in this moment. Now I would like you to close your eyes and think of someone who loves you unconditionally. I want you to imagine that person coming into the sanctuary and sitting near you. Imagine this person holding your hand and looking you in the eye and telling you that you are ok just as you are. Regardless of what you have done and what has been done to you – with all of your brokenness and all of your wholeness – the only thing that can define you in this prese...

Isaiah 11:1-10 ; Luke 1:26-38 If there were a place in the world where fear does not exist, would you want to go there? Maybe you’ve already been there. Take a moment and think about that. Think about the times and places when you have felt the safest; the freest; the most sincerely aware that you were unique in the world and loved by others and beloved by God and treated with kindness. Do you have that moment in your mind? Hold onto it, if you do. Don’t worry. I’m not going to challenge it or try to make you feel bad or awkward about it. I only want to honor it for what it is. Maybe you don’t have just one moment like that. Maybe you have too many to choose from. Whatever memories you have conjured up let us be thankful for them, because some have none. It may be that we who have many are called to create moments like these for others, but let’s hold that thought for a minute or two as well as we consider God’s word for us today. The prophecy of Isaiah, which finds fulfillment in the ...

Isaiah 2:1-5 ; Romans 13:11-14 ; Matthew 24:36-44 Hope Can't-Wait, a poem by the Rev. Sarah Are: Someone once told me that hope was naive— A foolish game that children play When they pray that summer won’t end, and bedtime won’t come. Someone once told me that hope was naive as they cradled pessimism in their lap like a sleeping cat, Stroking their ego while they stoked a fire within me. Unfortunately for them, I’m allergic to cats. And unfortunately for them, those who deny hope will never know vulnerability; For hope requires us to believe in a better day — even when this one is falling apart. Hope looks the 24-hour news cycle in the face, Hope looks our broken relationships in the face, Hope looks our low self-esteem in the face, And declares at low tide that the water will return. Hope is exhaling, trusting that your body will inhale again. Hope is watching the sunset and setting an alarm. Hope is planting seeds in the winter, assuming summer will come. I never said it would be...

For those who keep up with such things as liturgical calendars and seasons and dates – which means that you are clergy, or on the worship committee, or a real bonafide church nerd – you will know that today is (waits for an answer). Yes, Reign of Christ Sunday! That’s right, or as our Roman Catholic siblings say, “The Festival of Christ the King.” Many of us in the Reformed tradition have switched to calling it the Reign of Christ because of the problematic language of calling Christ our King. I realize that does not sound problematic if you have grown up with it, but the reality is that we have no real concept for Kings and Queens apart from figureheads and despots. In fact, our nation was founded on the expectation that we will not have an elite ruling class, that even the highest elected officials must be held accountable to the rule of law, and that there be a separation of powers to create checks and balances between each. Having said that I realize how tenuous and fraught our cur...

Micah 5:2-5–6:6-8 ; Matthew 9:9-13 If today is the day that you anticipate the dreaded “Stewardship Sermon,” I submit that these might be the worst passages of scripture to pick for such a message. Of course, that is if we presume that a Stewardship Sermon is an equivalent of the standard Fall Fundraiser drive that every non-profit and public radio station across the country is asking you to participate in – except this one is for Jesus so it has all kinds of guilt and moral authority baked into it. No, these passages are just all wrong for that kind of message, so I just won’t be giving you one of those this year. Of course, there might be another kind of stewardship message that these passages do support. If “stewardship” has more to do with managing our resources in such a way that we glorify God through our choices, our relationships, and our desire to become partners with God in demonstrations of love and mercy, then we might be on to something here. In Mathew 9 we see Jesus eatin...

2 Kings 5:1-15 ; Matthew 8:1-10 Today we have two texts that involve military leaders with personal needs seeking healing through the grace of God. Naaman was a Syrian General who approached Elijah with the blessing of his King and created some frustration for the King of Israel. In Matthew’s Gospel we have an unknown person suffering from Leprosy, the same as Namaaan, and then a Centurion whose servant is paralyzed. The reading, as it was assigned, only included the first story in Mathew, but it seemed appropriate to me to include both. Pairing the first story certainly connects the actions of God through Jesus with the actions of God through Elijah, but as I read it I could not help but notice the centurion’s faith and Jesus’ response as somewhat of an antithesis to Naaman’s. Matthew 8 follows the sermon on the mount, where Jesus has just laid bare all that he has come to teach. There are parables and other means of teaching that follow, but the sermon on the mount sets the tone for ...