Worship & Sermon Archive

As we journey through Eastertide and work together to figure out how to be Easter people, we have repeatedly returned to Jesus’ mandate to his disciples at the Last Supper to love each other as he has loved them. Yet, as we’ve seen, that’s easier said than done for both Jesus’ disciples and us.

"Those who find victory in love will inherit all things..." Revelation 21:7Easter Sunday, 1984 was my last Easter before coming here to St Paul & St Andrew. Pretending I had an hour of free time, I went next door to Riverside Church, where Bill Coffin was the pastor.I remember two things from Rev. Coffin's Easter sermon. First, he shared a ridiculous joke about moose hunting in Maine (I won't trouble you with that). But second, he referred to Easter not as one person's escape from the grave, but as "the victory of seemingly powerless love over loveless power." That is a line I will never forget.

Sarah Ahn and her mother, Nam Soon Ahn, co-authored the cookbook, "Umma: A Korean Mom’s Kitchen Wisdom." The project came out of these short Instagram videos that Sarah made with her mom in the kitchen. They went viral, capturing the hearts of thousands of folks, including mine. The videos offer little glimpses into their family and daily experiences, all featuring food. They’re tender and sweet.

Lent and Holy Week and Easter came and went. Here we are, in Eastertide, a season of 50 days where we continue to celebrate the hope found in that glimpse of the possibility of resurrection that Easter offers, and where we face the challenge of what that means for our lives, for the everydayness that once again takes over when the celebration of the extraordinary ends and the world itself doesn't feel any different at all. When evil remains real and tangible and visible.

Lent and Holy Week and Easter came and went. Here we are, in Eastertide, a season of 50 days where we continue to celebrate the hope found in that glimpse of the possibility of resurrection that Easter offers, and where we face the challenge of what that means for our lives, for the everydayness that once again takes over when the celebration of the extraordinary ends and the world itself doesn't feel any different at all. When evil remains real and tangible and visible.

Easter 2025. What can we say about the rising of Christ, when everything that's happening seems designed to bring us down? It's a difficult time to be wrestling with resurrection. All around us we see instances of people betrayed. Of people arrested, sometimes even, like Jesus, in the midst of prayer. We hear of others, their humanity denied, their bodies and lives, their belongingness and being-ness called into question. God forgive us.

Today's text is the famous story from Luke 15, the 'parable of the prodigal parent'. We usually call this parable the 'prodigal son', but I like to focus on the father's prodigality: extravagantly generous, he shows excessive liberality to both his children. Prodigal, indeed.

Today's text is the famous story from Luke 15, the 'parable of the prodigal parent'. We usually call this parable the 'prodigal son', but I like to focus on the father's prodigality: extravagantly generous, he shows excessive liberality to both his children. Prodigal, indeed.

In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus calls his disciples the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world." Surrounded by a diverse group—fisherpeople, tax collectors, the vulnerable and disenfranchised - Jesus offers a revolutionary message in a turbulent time. It challenges how they see themselves and invites them to embrace a transformative role in the world. What does his message have to do with you and me? And how will we respond to this radical call? 

Martin Luther King used to say, "The time is always right to do right." I don't know whether Dr. King had this story in mind, but he'd certainly have gone along with Jesus. 

This week's Gospel text shows us some strange bedfellows. The Pharisees, who are often depicted as enemies of Jesus - or at least antagonists - show up to warn Jesus about Herod Antipas's murderous intent towards him. But of course, there were Pharisees and there were Pharisees. Just as today there are Christians and there are Christians.

Happy Birthday!  On the first Sunday of March back in 1835, our congregation officially began, dedicated as the "Second Wesleyan Chapel". A church building was soon under construction, down on Mulberry Street.   Barely 23 years later, the congregation moved uptown to a brand-new place on Park Ave S. & 22nd St. - a soaring ediface, clothed in marble, with a 210-foot steeple, largely the gift of church trustee Daniel Drew. It was truly a glorious building, but lasted only 40 years. 

"When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything behind and followed him." - Luke 5:11...Friends, That is maybe the most frightening phrase in the Bible. Dietrich Bonhoeffer puts it like this in The Cost of Discipleship: "Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus... It is costly because it compels a person to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow where he is going."

"When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything behind and followed him." - Luke 5:11...Friends, That is maybe the most frightening phrase in the Bible. Dietrich Bonhoeffer puts it like this in The Cost of Discipleship: "Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus... It is costly because it compels a person to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow where he is going."

"When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything behind and followed him." - Luke 5:11...Friends, That is maybe the most frightening phrase in the Bible. Dietrich Bonhoeffer puts it like this in The Cost of Discipleship: "Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus... It is costly because it compels a person to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow where he is going."

I don't know about you, but some days lately, I feel pretty drained. It's hard to deal with one more piece of news. It's a challenge to summon the energy to respond to one more problem or situation.

Over the last several days, the power of words has been on full display. Proclamations, addresses, orders, organizational memos, statements, and lots and lots of emails, tweets, texts, and posts are swirling around us, each claiming to convey messages of import. So many words, so little time.

I don't know about you, but some days lately, I feel pretty drained. It's hard to deal with one more piece of news. It's a challenge to summon the energy to respond to one more problem or situation.

This week, as we move into the season of Epiphany, the season of the liturgical cycle where we learn more about Jesus and his life, we celebrate Baptism of Jesus Sunday.

Epiphany, marking the day when the Wise Ones arrive in Bethlehem to see the infant Jesus, has the larger meaning of 'shining forth' or 'becoming clear'.