Sermons by Pastor Gewecke (Page 11)
Epiphany 7C Life as Gift Giving
Luke 6:27-38 Being always proceeds doing! So Jesus teaches us it is for his disciples in this sermon. This text is just a long string of imperatives presenting a high standard of conduct for his disciples. Yet we also understand that this conduct proceeds from who we are, the blessed in Christ (see Epiphany 6C sermon). Since Christ lives in us we can do better that the world’s principle of reciprocity (the Golden Rule). We live by the Golden Rule…
Epiphany 6C “The Two Ways”
Luke 6:17-26 “The Two Ways” is a didactic technique that stretches all the ways back to Moses in Deuteronomy where he sets before the people the way of life and the way of death; two paths. In this tradition, Jesus in the first part of his teaching to his disciples sets forth two paths; those of blessing and woe. The blessings express the being of his disciples. This is who they are in him, they are the blessed. It is…
2/10/2019 Epiphany 5C Beneficiaries and Agents
Isaiah 6:1-8 and Luke 5:1-11 “Let George do it!” It is an old saying rarely used today but still a reality of everyday life. How often have we tried to shift responsibility to others? I don’t want to do that! I can’t do that! I don’t have time for that! But both Isaiah and Peter came to understand that as recipients of God’s grace they were also then called to be God’s agents. Reflection on their experience can move us…
Feb 3, 2019 Epiphany 4 Known by God
Jeremiah 1:4-10 One of the things that hamstrings us in our service for God is the excuses we make. We often see ourselves as inadequate in one way or another. For Jeremiah it was his age. He thought he was too young. But God would have nothing of his excuses. From before the time he was conceived God had consecrated him for a purpose. God also has a purpose for each of us from before our creation in the womb.…
1/27/2019 Epiphany 3
Acts of Mercy, Advocacy and Proclaiming the Gospel Luke 4:16-30 In his first recorded sermon Jesus quotes Isaiah 61 and declares that in that moment the prophecy is fulfilled in himself. Jesus is the Christ! And the Christ has a mission which is also defined by Isaiah 61; to do acts of mercy (sight to the blind), to advocate for justice (proclaim liberty), and to preach good news. This become programmatic for the body of Christ as well.
1/20/2019 Epiphany 2 John 2:1-11 Faith that God is Good
Have you ever felt rebuffed by God, like your prayer gets about as far as the ceiling and just bounces back? It is not an uncommon experience and something that Mary, Jesus’ mother, experienced too. Feeling rebuffed can lead us down a bad path of bitterness and non-responsiveness to God. But there is another way. Mary shows us what that is.
1/13/19 Baptism of Our Lord Isaiah 43:1-7
Identity in Baptism Where do we find our identity? Is it in our new year’s resolutions or the other ways that we try to remake ourselves? Isaiah reminded Israel that her identity was to be found in God, the God who created, formed, redeemed and called her by name. Our identity is not in what we do but in what God has done for us. In our baptism, like Israel, God creates, forms, redeems, and calls us by name.
1/6/2019 Epiphany Rejoice with Exceeding Joy
Herod and the Magi are typical of two types of people; those who oppose God and those who have faith. Opposition leads to a troubled spirit as typified in Herod. Faith leads to exceeding joy as typified in the Magi. So how do you respond to the reign of God breaking into your world? Are you troubled in spirit or do you rejoice?
12/30/2018 Christmas 1 The Law at Work
This First Sunday after Christmas can feel like a time in between. It is not Christmas Day nor is it New Year’s or even Epiphany. It is somewhere in between. We may even feel the lack of structure in our professional lives; do we go to work or take the day off? In these days and others God’s law is meant to give us structure and order. In fact, while salvation comes through the Gospel, the Law plays an important…
12/24/2018 Christmas Eve – Making Sense of the Census
The first seven verses of the birth narrative of Jesus are dominated not by the birth but the census. That is not to say that the birth is not the main thing and the climax of these verses. But the census plays an important part in telling the story of Jesus’ birth. What is Luke saying by giving the census such a prominent place? How do we make sense of the census?