Br. Jim Woodrum Job 38:1-11 Mark 4:35-41 In 1947, a friend of the composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein suggested that he write a piece of music based on W.H. Auden’s epic poem, “The Age of Anxiety.” Despite critics deeming the poem as Auden’s “one dull book, his one failure,” it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948. The poem’s subject is four strange…

Br. Jim Woodrum Job 38:1-11 Mark 4:35-41 In 1947, a friend of the composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein suggested that he write a piece of music based on W.H. Auden’s epic poem, “The Age of Anxiety.” Despite critics deeming the poem as Auden’s “one dull book, his one failure,” it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948. The poem’s subject is four strange…

Br. Curtis Almquist Matthew 6:19-23 At the beginning of the Gospel according to Matthew, we learn of the wise men who came from the East to pay homage to the infant, Jesus, predicted to be the “king of the Jews.” We read they bring with them treasure-chests of gold, frankincense, and myrrh as gifts for the newborn.[i] We are never told what happene…

Br. Curtis Almquist Matthew 6:19-23 At the beginning of the Gospel according to Matthew, we learn of the wise men who came from the East to pay homage to the infant, Jesus, predicted to be the “king of the Jews.” We read they bring with them treasure-chests of gold, frankincense, and myrrh as gifts for the newborn.[i] We are never told what happene…

Luke 12:1-12 We remember today the southern African missionary and martyr Bernard Mizeki. Born in modern-day Mozambique, he came to the Christian faith while a young man in South Africa, where he was baptized in 1866 by Father Puller of our Society. In 1891, he traveled to Mashonaland, in the northeast of modern-day Zimbabwe, to serve as a missiona…

Luke 12:1-12 We remember today the southern African missionary and martyr Bernard Mizeki. Born in modern-day Mozambique, he came to the Christian faith while a young man in South Africa, where he was baptized in 1866 by Father Puller of our Society. In 1891, he traveled to Mashonaland, in the northeast of modern-day Zimbabwe, to serve as a missiona…

John 21:15-19 “How’re you doing?” How do you usually answer this question? “I’m fine,” perhaps, or “I’m okay.” In our daily interactions we get asked seemingly polite questions like this over and over, and we are conditioned to respond politely. They don’t want to know your whole life story. Unless they do. But we can’t know their intention—unless …

John 21:15-19 “How’re you doing?” How do you usually answer this question? “I’m fine,” perhaps, or “I’m okay.” In our daily interactions we get asked seemingly polite questions like this over and over, and we are conditioned to respond politely. They don’t want to know your whole life story. Unless they do. But we can’t know their intention—unless …

1 John 5:9-13 John 17:6-19 As your preacher on this seventh Sunday of Easter, I must confess I struggle with a key concept found throughout the gospel and epistles of John. “The world” in these writings is a multi-faceted term. Its meaning shifts and accumulates layers of meaning every time it appears. Sometimes the world is simply the material rea…

1 John 5:9-13 John 17:6-19 As your preacher on this seventh Sunday of Easter, I must confess I struggle with a key concept found throughout the gospel and epistles of John. “The world” in these writings is a multi-faceted term. Its meaning shifts and accumulates layers of meaning every time it appears. Sometimes the world is simply the material rea…

Br. David Vryhof I Corinthians 3:10-14 Matthew 6:19-24 When I was in seminary – now, quite a few years ago – I took a course in preaching. Whether or not it did me any good, I’ll let you decide. One of the things I remember from that class was the professor’s admonition to first seek out the tone and intention of the text, and then craft a sermon t…

Br. David Vryhof I Corinthians 3:10-14 Matthew 6:19-24 When I was in seminary – now, quite a few years ago – I took a course in preaching. Whether or not it did me any good, I’ll let you decide. One of the things I remember from that class was the professor’s admonition to first seek out the tone and intention of the text, and then craft a sermon t…

For your homiletic dessert I have whipped up 500 words about one word. The word is nīké, if you enjoy New Testament Greek; or Nike, if you have ever heard of basketball. “To conquer.” The word “conquer” makes me uncomfortable generally, and even more so when it appears in Scripture. But for those of us who place the Johannine witness at the center …

For your homiletic dessert I have whipped up 500 words about one word. The word is nīké, if you enjoy New Testament Greek; or Nike, if you have ever heard of basketball. “To conquer.” The word “conquer” makes me uncomfortable generally, and even more so when it appears in Scripture. But for those of us who place the Johannine witness at the center …

Isaiah 44:1-8 Psalm 92:1-2, 11-14 John 20:1-9 The summer after I graduated from college, I received a phone call. The caller introduced himself as Agent So-and-so, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I was struck silent for a moment or two. Not least because I was having a mild panic attack: “What did you do, Lain?!” After I recovered, I learne…

Isaiah 44:1-8 Psalm 92:1-2, 11-14 John 20:1-9 The summer after I graduated from college, I received a phone call. The caller introduced himself as Agent So-and-so, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I was struck silent for a moment or two. Not least because I was having a mild panic attack: “What did you do, Lain?!” After I recovered, I learne…

Br. Jack Crowley John 20:1-9 Don’t worry, each of these sermons is only five minutes long. You won’t be here all day. There will be plenty of time for the garden party. One of my favorite parts of today’s Gospel passage is how it is overshadowed by good news. Overshadowed is probably not the right word, so I’ll make one up, maybe overlightened woul…

Br. Jack Crowley John 20:1-9 Don’t worry, each of these sermons is only five minutes long. You won’t be here all day. There will be plenty of time for the garden party. One of my favorite parts of today’s Gospel passage is how it is overshadowed by good news. Overshadowed is probably not the right word, so I’ll make one up, maybe overlightened woul…

Br. Curtis Almquist Psalm 72: 7-8, 12-15, 17 If you have occasion to study a tapestry or quilt, where you can view both the front side and the back side, you often discover that though the front side may be more beautiful, the back side is more instructive and shows all the quite-hidden work that has enabled what is presented on the front side. Tha…