Sermon Synopses - 2009

Sermons at Trinity are usually ex tempore, that is done without notes...Please enjoy our "Sermon Synopses" or short summaries of sermons preached at Trinity

Link to Sermons Synopses for additional summaries available from this year.

Sermon for Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Luke 2:36-40

As a child, I remember the different librarians in my hometown library: favorite children’s librarians who looked like they might bake you cookies if you asked, as well as the stern spinster with hair pulled back tightly in a bun, unfashionable glasses and sensible shoes in the adult department upstairs.  (I’d rather visit Baba Yaga’s hut than go to the desk of Miss _____.)

Librarians are aware of the different images they hold in the popular imagination.  In “The Role of Archetypal Images in the Humanization of  Librarianship,” Michael Engle speaks to these stereotypes.  Engle argues that, if librarians can be cognizant of the archetypes (the “Good Mother” vs “the crone”) they can choose to use them –or not – and be a great force for good in helping people in the library. 

In today’s gospel lesson, Anna is like a librarian (of the “Good Mother” variety):  She is an older single woman who dwells in a repository, not of books but of the things of God, and comes out “from behind the desk” to greet guests like the Holy Family.  Like the best of children’s librarians, she shares their excitement.  And she helps people find what they are looking for, Jesus Christ:  “At that very hour she began praising God and speaking of the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

There is great power is the symbol that is Anna.  She is the one who greets readers as they enter Luke’s gospel, is curious in what they are curious in, and excited about what they are excited about – the Christ – and she can help people find him whom they seek.

All of us have Anna’s in our lives – people who have greeted us, shared our curiosity and helped us find what we are looking for, Jesus Christ.  And all of us have an inner “Anna,” ready to pay it forward and do the same for others.

I invite you to pray with this passage and ask Jesus to show you those who have been Anna’s in your life.  To do so is helpful for two reasons:  1)  The places in which Anna’s have entered our lives are places in which our ground is fertile.  If we wish for growth in God, chances are these places are the places where are roots can go deeper.  2)  When we pray about our Anna’s, we are inspired to become Anna’s to others.  Just as an “Anna” has helped us find Christ, so we, too, can become a great force for good to help others find Jesus.

Sermon for December 24, 2009

You never know what can happen at the Christmas Eve service. 

1. Story of sheep fighting. 
2. Kermit the Frog. 
3. Baby Jesus’s diaper leaking through, making Mary’s dark blue even darker. 

You never know what can happen at the Christmas Eve service…

Story of Matthew: 

1. Great marriage, good job, two beautiful, healthy children, nice home… but something was missing; I was empty inside. 
2. Came to church on Christmas Eve.  Slipped into the back pew and saw all the people and the beautiful church, heard the carols, smelled the candles and the wine, heard the beautiful words of Luke chapter 2 telling about Mary and Joseph and Bethlehem and a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.
3. “All that emptiness inside me gasped, like a pearl diver finally coming up for air; it was as though I was able to breath for the first time in decades.”  He was completely overcome, and told how he wept as quietly as he could, there at the back of the church. 

Never know what can happen at the Christmas Eve service…

1. We never know what can happen at the Christmas Eve service because, above all, Jesus wants to be born into our lives.  Yes, he was born into our world 2,000 years ago, but he also seeks to be born in us today.
2. He stands knocking at our door every day, every hour, hoping that we will open and let him in.
3. Jesus seeks to enter our hearts, because Jesus wants, above all, to be in relationship with us.  A relationship marked by love – “love one another as I have loved you” – a relationship that is a friendship – “I do not call you servants…”
4. He will never use force.  Indeed, his most often used tactic is silence and waiting.  Simone Weil’s beggar.
5. But he is persistent; he will not give up.  And he is knocking on the door of our hearts right now.  And, who knows, somebody here tonight is ready to open the door to him.

You never know what can happen at the Christmas Eve service…

1. I invite you, in the twelve days to come, to do two things:

1. Spend some time with the Christmas Gospel, Luke chapter 2.  Give yourself 20 – 30 minutes.  Read its words slowly and meditatively, let them enter into you.  If a word or phrase catches your attention, chew on it for a while.  Notice what images or thoughts come to mind.  Rest in it.
2. Ask Jesus to show you what you desire.  It’s one thing to think you know what you desire; it’s another to ask Jesus to show you what you desire.  What do you desire?  Write it down in a journal.  Keep praying over the twelve days.  Does what you desire change, or stay the same?  Keep asking Jesus if this is what you desire.

As we are faithful to our prayer, I think we will be surprised at the ways “the dear Christ enters in,” how he is “born in us today.”   You never know what can happen on Christmas Eve… or in the weeks and months to come after Christmas Eve.

Sermon for Sunday, December 13, 2009
Advent III
Phil 4:4-7

Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. – Phil 4:6

Today:  Anxiety

1. Today, I am going to speak about anxiety, something that I have a hunch is part of all of our lives, especially during the Holiday Season
2. I’m going to tell you something that I think we all know – that anxiety is detrimental to our spiritual lives…
3. … something else we all know: that we don’t need to worry as much as we do.
4. …I’m going to tell you what we can do about anxiety, and how we can take steps to move to a place of trust

First, a Story:  Lost at 4th of July parade. 

1. …story that gives clue as to what is likely behind most of our anxiety, as well as shows us a choice we can make..
2. Elements of story to remember:
3. As you can imagine, my anxiety spiked instantly.  “Where was my daddy?” 
4. Caught attention of those standing nearby
5. One kind man got down on his knees to talk to me, his voice a river of calm:  “Are you lost?  Here, we’ll find your daddy.  You know, I’m an airplane pilot, and I’ve been lost before.  It’s scary.  But I eventually found my way.  We’ll find your daddy, too.”
6. I made a choice to trust. 
7. He took me to find a policeman, and no sooner did we find an officer than my father found me.

We are anxious

1. I have a hunch that a lot of us can identify with anxiety. 
2. Who here has been anxious in the last week?
3. It’s amazing, what we can find to be anxious about: 
4. Money
5. Work
6. Marriage
7. Perhaps we are anxious about aging parents
8. Perhaps we are anxious about issues with our children

Why anxiety is detrimental / why we should care about it

1. Anxiety is detrimental to our spiritual lives; I think w e know this.
2. Anxiety is a form of “spiritual desolation,” that is, a time when lose sight of God and therefore lose our way.
3. On one hand, our souls are not happy when we are living for purposes other than that for which we were created; we feel the effects of sin, we are imprisoned, we are not free to serve God.
4. On the other hand, as much as we say we don’t like anxiety, I think we often feed on it, even wallow in it – it gives us a perverse sense of importance and keeps us from focusing on deeper issues.
5. [Anxiety never seems to go away. We think that this anxiety will be temporary, “Things will get better (after the new year), (when I get a raise), (if I survive the next round of job cuts).”  But then we keep on worrying. ]
6. Unless we take action to stop this cycle of worrying, we can worry our lives away.  Who wants to do that?

What can we do?

1. Because of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, we need not worry, not even about death.
2. What the scriptures tell us that we do in times of worry is found in today’s lesson from Philippians:  “Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
3. We need not worry; but it is a good idea to pray.
4. Prayer is the ultimate act of trust
1. Pray to somebody we can’t see
2. …to somebody whose existence our best science cannot prove
5. Trust is something we must chose to do; God cannot command it.
1. I made a choice to trust the man who saw my distress, who bent down and listened, and led me to a policeman and back to my father.
2. If we are to move past anxiety and live in freedom to serve God as we were intended – we, too, need to make a choice: the choice to trust, to trust this man Jesus who sees our distress, who in the mystery of  Christmas bends down to us, who comes to us to lead us back to the Father.
6. We can trust this man. He is here for our good.
7. He is the good shepherd who will always be with us, who will always be leading us, he will provide for us what we need, and will lead us back to the Father.

Invitation

• All of us suffer from anxiety; the holiday season can be especially anxious
• Anxiety is detrimental to our spiritual health; symptomatic of our losing sight of God, of our losing our way
• We don’t need to worry, but it is a good idea to pray.  Prayer is ultimate act of trust, an entering into relationship with Jesus Christ, letting him into our lives.  He will lead us back to the Father.
• I invite you to pray to Jesus when you are anxious.
• Be forthright and specific with him:  “Jesus, I am anxious about my finances.”  “Jesus, I am anxious about my job.”  “Jesus, I am worried about my marriage.” 
• Whatever it is, you can tell Jesus.  He wants to hear it.  Nothing is too small.
• “I don’t pray at other times; why should I call on him only when I’m in need?”  It doesn’t matter; just pray!  Jesus wants above all to be in relationship with us.  We’ve got to start somewhere.
• As we pray to Jesus, as we enter into and deepen our relationship with him, He will indeed give us, as we heard in the lesson from Philippians, “The peace of God that passes understanding,” and it will “guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Sermon for Sunday, December 6, 2009
Advent 2

Today I am going to speak about desire.

1. Something that we don’t often think of as a churchly topic, except maybe to suppress it
2. But desire – along with hope, expectation and waiting – is one of the great themes of Advent

But first, let me digress

1. “Cloak and dagger” I’ve been reading on vacation and then on retreat
2. Scene in which there is an unexpected knock on the door
3. There is a sense of darkness and hidden-ness about these “knock on the door” scenes; we know somebody is there but we can’t see who
4. These scenes fill the reader with anticipation.  Who is there and what do they want?  Will they bring good or ill?
5. We know things are about to change, something new is going to happen
6. We have to read on!
7. These scenes are like Advent.
8. Darkness and hidden-ness to the season (Notice how Jesus is absent from today’s gospel lesson?  And he’s gone the next two Sunday’s, too!  The only time that…)
9. It is a season of anticipation as we look forward to Christmas
10. It is the church’s new year – and close to the calendar new year – and it is a time of hope for new things to happen, and perhaps a sense of fear for new things to happen

Back to the matter at hand…  desire.

1. Did you notice I did not quote a scripture passage at the opening of my sermon?  Today’s sermon is about what is not found in today’s gospel lesson.  Or rather who is not in today’s gospel lesson.  Did anybody notice?  (Jesus is absent from today’s gospel lesson! And the next Sunday’s and the Sunday after that!)
2. We begin the church year with Jesus just outside of the gospel lesson.  He’s not far, only verses away; he’s just outside.
3. An appropriate place to begin the church year, for our spiritual journey begins – and deepens – in much the same way.
4. Questions:
5. Where is Jesus now?  à  Just outside our “doors.”
6. What is he doing? à knocking
7. What does he want? à  each and every one of us, all of us
8. Jesus desires us!  This is where the spiritual journey begins

Question…

1. What do you desire?
2. May seem straightforward – maybe.  Best way to know what you desire is to ask Jesus to show you your desire.
3. This is your homework.  “Jesus, please show me my desire.”
4. Begs question, “Will you let him in?”
5. Can be scary to let him in.  We know that by letting him in things will change, that something new will happen.
6. Unlike opening the door in a spy novel, with Jesus what happens next is always for our good. Jesus wants only what will bring us closer into relationship with him: what will bring us more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness
7. Yes, Jesus can be demanding – “If any would be my disciple, let them take up their cross” “Forgive, not seven times, but seventy time seven” “Love your enemy, and pray for those who persecute you” – but letting him into our hearts is always for the good.
8. Jesus is not going anywhere.  He is going to keep knocking.  Like parable of the householder who had guests arrive in the middle of the night and had no bread…
9. He will not force, but he will keep standing outside your walls, until you open the door.

Your invitation this week, this Advent:

1. Ask Jesus that he may show you his desire for you
2. Pray to Jesus to show you your desire
3. Consider this poem by Rainer Maria Rilke

You many unassaulted cities:
Have you never yearned for the enemy?
Yearned that he might besiege you
For long irresolute years, until

In hopelessness and hunger you receive him?
He extends like the land beyond your walls,
And he knows he can hold out longer.

Look from your balconies:
There he camps: he does not tire
Or diminish in size or strength.
He sends no messengers to threaten
Or to promise or persuade.

He who will overcome you
Is working in silence.

 

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