"podcast" Tagged Sermons (Page 119)

We live in a world of endless voices. We hear the voices of our supervisor or board members direct us. We hear politicians say very different things. The media, researchers, doctors, therapists, and advertisers convince us to listen to them. Whom do we listen to? Is that a fake news story or is it accurate? Is that person spinning something for their own gain? Some of the voices grate. Others are shrill. Yet, today, one voice rings out in the wilderness…

“Keep awake” is what Jesus said. (Matthew 24:42) “Keep awake.” Clearly he has no idea what we’ve been through. I’m exhausted. In the past month we’ve cheered at the World Series; we’ve followed a divisive election cycle; we gathered at Thanksgiving tables with those different from us; and now we’re on to the rest of the holiday season. With all the coffee we’re drinking, we’re awake already! Yet, today Jesus reminds us to “keep awake.”…

I’m uncomfortable. It’s not only that Thanksgiving with my politically divided family is this week. It’s more than last Thursday’s high temperature of 72 followed by last night’s low of 27. I’m most uncomfortable with the title of today’s feast day. Here we use title “The Reign of Christ,” and, to be clear, that’s “reign” as in ruling with authority, not “rain” as in precipitation from the sky. As a title, The Reign of Christ communicates power. So on this Sunday I’d expect us to read about when Jesus flipped tables in the synagogue, or raised someone from the dead, or the miracle of water turned into wine. Instead, we got the crucifixion story from Luke. It’s an uncomfortable and seemingly odd scene to read as we gear up for the holidays…