Tag Archives: Christianity
Sermon Rewind: Favoring Mary
“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’” The […]
Sermon Rewind: According to Your Word
(Note: I preached this sermon on the third Sunday in Advent, 2011) Sisters and brothers, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. “Then the angel departed from her.” Does anyone else just want to burst into tears when you hear this verse at the end of today’s […]
Sermon Rewind: Stay Thirsty
(Note: This sermon was preached on the third Sunday of Advent in 2011, when these Dos Equis ads were still relatively new and creative). Sisters and brothers, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. I want to tell you this morning about my favorite series of beer […]
Misconduct in an age of cheap accountability
This is one of those problems that I can articulate without being able to conceive of an answer beyond “lots more people should go to church, but, like, a good church.”
“We Didn’t Know It Was You”
A child who grows up singing “Silent Night,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and “Away in a Manger” may be forgiven for imagining that nothing could be more delightful than to be born in a stable.
Sermon Rewind: Tear the Heavens
(Note: I preached this sermon on the first Sunday of Advent in 2014) Sisters and brothers, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Raise your hand if you had a mother (or father) who woke you up at 4 a.m. to go to the highest hill in […]
Chicago Diarist: Waiting
(I wrote this in December, 2009) Say what you will about cold weather, crowds, and snow or the threat thereof grinding the streets to a halt, but I kind of love Chicago in December. I love the concerts of sacred music for free or cheap, the Bavarian Christmas market at Daley Plaza (with offsetting public […]
Sermon Rewind: The King in his Court
(Note: I preached this sermon on the Feast of Christ the King in 2008 at Wicker Park Lutheran Church). Sisters and brothers, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Imagine, for a moment, that it is England in the 14th century, and you are an ordinary person […]
It’s the Pictures that Got Small
(I wrote this in March, 2013) I am no more eager than Damon Linker to rehash the arguments of the Lesser Atheism, but I don’t quite follow him this far: If atheism is true, it is far from being good news. Learning that we’re alone in the universe, that no one hears or answers our prayers, […]
Thus Does the God Stand Upon the Earth
(Note: I preached this sermon in May, 2007, at the University of Chicago’s Bond Chapel. I repost it for Kierkegaard’s commemoration tomorrow). A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke [9:51-62]: 51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52And he sent […]
Brutally Ordinary Things 