Sermons for April 2017

I love the walk between my house and the river. It’s a journey that’s not always pretty. Most of the tall trees are gone, since the tornado. Some days, the air stinks with exhaust and industrial pollution. Following the banks of the creek where it curves beneath the interstate, I meditate over the garbage, which… Read More

As night fell on the first Easter evening, Jesus’ disciples gathered behind locked doors—not to celebrate, but to hide, not to plan for the future, but to grieve. That same morning, they had received incredible news. Jesus was not in the tomb. He had been raised. In the garden, he called Mary by name. She… Read More

Anne Lamott says, “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.” Mary Magdalene and the other Mary faced their fear, that first Easter morning. They went to see the tomb, to be present to their loss and the trauma of their community, to hold vigil in that cold, dark, damp space of death. They went… Read More

We say: “Our bones are dried up and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely. God says: “I am going to open your graves. I will put my spirit in you and you shall live.” Sometimes, when I think about death, I feel panic-y with grief and fear. At other times, I’m calm,… Read More