Sermon Archives

Easter
April 9, 2023

Jesus Christ is Risen!

Jesus Christ is Risen!

In the desert of desolation, Resurrection sweeps us up in a roaring rain of life. He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

April 17, 2022

The Art of Resurrection: From Certainty to Openness

The Art of Resurrection: From Certainty to Openness

On Friday, Good Friday, many of us gathered in this very space. Together, we said: Look and see the shadow of sin. Look and see the weight of the world. Look and see the suffering of our savior. Look and see the sorrow of Jesus Christ. We sang hymns. We prayed to our forgiving, reconciling, […]

April 12, 2020

Practicing Resurrection

I In the last four weeks, I’ve been talking with Christians across the United States, from Virginia in the east, to California in the west; and from Minnesota in the north, to Florida in the south. I’ve listened to pastors, conference ministers, therapists, and spiritual directors. All of them are asking the same underlying question: […]

April 21, 2019

Out of the Dust

All this pain, I wonder if I’ll ever find my way, I wonder if life could life could really change, at all. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. That’s what we say at burials, isn’t it? “Seeing that the earthly life of our brother has come to an end, we commit his […]

April 1, 2018

Last at the Cross, First at the Tomb

I like to think I’m pretty familiar with the women of the Bible. From Ruth, to Deborah, to Tamar, and even Shiphrah and Puah, I’ve read these stories. I know these stories. I’ve thought a lot about these stories. I like to think that I reference them often. And I know that the Black church […]

April 16, 2017

Remembering . . . and Encountering

About 25 years ago, my mother died. Her death affected me so much that for several months afterward, I was disoriented. I had trouble mentally focusing on things and spent more time than usual staring out the window, daydreaming, thinking about her, trying to imagine what life would be like without her. I also had […]

March 27, 2016

A Table Full of Love

There is a lot of mystery that surrounds the resurrection. No one knows how it happened—there were no witnesses to the actual resurrection. It took place in the dark of a tomb. And in this last chapter of John, the mystery of resurrection, love and forgiveness continues. There is mystery too, that surrounds this last […]

April 23, 2014

Easter

The challenge of Easter is that we have heard this story so many times, we stop listening to it because we know what happens. We know how it ends. Jesus died, and rose again. End of story. Now what’s for dinner? That’s the challenge for all of us, preacher and listener alike. We know this […]

March 31, 2013

Who are These

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark…” The Easter account begins in the darkness. The pain and grief of Good Friday linger still as Mary Magdalene approaches the tomb of Jesus. Most of us prefer the joy of Easter to the grief of Good Friday. We prefer the grief […]

March 24, 2013

With Christ in our Eyes

One day many years ago in Columbus, Ohio, I was down on my hands and knees in the entryway of our church building, installing ceramic tiles. I was dressed in old, tattered clothes. My hands and blue jeans were smeared with grey mortar. Around mid‐morning, Moises walked into the building. Moises was a Colombian man […]