RoboPreacher

you have to learn how to die / if you want to want to be alive A sermon on the magi's incident : A happy new year to you all! I pray this new year falls afresh upon you. I hope this new year is utterly bursting with opportunities for you. And I wish that the newness of this new year will last you all year, too. That’s a lot to ask, though, I know. The actually new is incredibly rare . It’s hard to come by anything truly novel. Perhaps that’s why we’ve all grown a bit apathetic to new years’ resolutions . We’ve all learned the unhappy lesson that the smart money is on the way things already are. We’ve surmised the best we can do is just adjust ourselves to life’s cold hard facts. This is a malaise I , for one, fall into all too easily… Interestingly, though , it was by attending to the steady movements of the heavens that led the magi to notice the rising of a new star on the world’s stage. Our translations call these folks wise men . But the word is “magi.” As in, magici...

and his gospel is love A sermon on the Christmas Gospel once more: Each one of us , in our own way, has intuited on some level that this night is a holy night indeed. One way or another, something insists to us that this is a holy night. Regardless of whether we were dragged here or if we did the dragging, the holiness of this night cannot be denied. As for the silence or calm , well, that’s another story. Isn’t it? Nonetheless , I pray you all will know a little of that bright calm and quiet that springs from the blessings Christ comes to bring tonight . And I especially pray this for all you blessed parents out there. But, regardless of whether “all was calm” as you got ready for church, and notwithstanding if tonight will be “silent” or not, either, having arrived , we cannot deny that there’s something particularly holy about this delicate sliver of time. Isn’t there? Now, let it be said holy does not mean magical . And neither does holy mean spiritual or supernatural...

joseph gets upset b/c he doesn't understand A sermon on Joseph's role in the drama of redemption : We love these pageants. Don’t we? And it’s not just because these youngsters are adorable in their getups, either. Although let’s face it, they are .   No, we love these pageants because they hit upon a truth . A long sought- after promise. An ennobling reality, even. But it is also a truth that is often oh so hard to come by in this harried day-to-day existence we’re all just trying to get through. However, it must also be said that while these pageants are truthful , they aren’t particularly accurate . It’s been ten Christmases you’ve all suffered through my sermons. God bless you. And each year, when it comes time to prepare for the sermon, I’m surprised all over again at just how brief the Christmas story is on the matter of Mary and Joseph’s plight ! The stuff that entire pageants are devoted to warrants merely a passing mention in the Gospel writer's account o...

thank god you are here with me a sermon on Isaiah's prophetic sermon of the "suffering servant" Today, in case you didn’t know, is “ Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete Sunday is an occasion in the church year. It’s often marked by a pink Advent candle.   Perhaps some of you recall such a Sunday from years past .   Now we’ll talk about what Gaudete means in a bit . We’ll discuss the translation, origin, and purpose of this day. For now , though, suffice it to say that, practically speaking, this moment in the church year marks the make-or- break moment for all your Christmas preparations. Truthfully, it actually marks the moment the make-or-break moment has come and gone . Just as Christ the King represents the day you need to prepare your Christmas pudding, so Gaudete Sunday represents the instance it has become too late to alter how your Christmas plans will shake out.   I know. That’s not what you wanted to hear. But it’s true . And I do you no favors by pretending otherw...