RoboPreacher

& i know, i know there is joy endowed a sermon on Paul's harangue about religious perfectionism   In today’s Scripture, Saint Paul’s talking about something we all can relate to. But he’s talking about it in a way none of us can relate to!   Let’s be honest; all this talk of circumcision sounds so primitive , cultic , and, frankly, a little icky and TMI for people like us . You know, modern and sophisticated people like us . However , I can’t help but remember how I was struck dumb this summer when, in Acts 17, Saint Paul walked into the Areopagus, looked around at a bunch of people more like us than him, and said, “ Athenians , I see how extremely RELIGIOUS y’all are.”   It’s as if Paul took a good long look at how the likes of us get along in this old world and couldn’t help but blurt out, “And I thought we , Jewish people, were religious ! No, you so-called modern folks have us a beat by a mile. You’re the most superstitious lot I’ve ever come upon!” The tr...

can't do much about it now A sermon on Paul's creative allegorizing   In today’s passage, we get to have a little Bible study with Saint Paul himself !   * That’s what the Bible offers you, you know! In Acts, you can listen to the very first Christian sermons for yourself ! In the gospels, you can hear Jesus’ own parables with your very ears! And today , WE get to sit at the feet of Saint Paul as he does a little Scripture interpretation and application ! However, the master begins with a statement that sounds a little strange . At least to our ears. Saint Paul says, “Tell me, you who desire to be subject to the law .” And then, as Paul wraps up his study, he concludes with an admonition that rings off to the likes of us. “Stand firm ,” he exhorts, “and do NOT submit again to the yoke of slavery .”   Hearing Paul speak like this , it’s easy to think we’re listening in on a class not meant for our ears. After all, we’re red-blooded Americans . We’re from th...

first bloom, you know it's spring A sermon on Paul's frustration with the Galatians :  “You just need to be forgiven ,” Dr. Jones said after much discussion of the latest predicament I had gotten myself into. “And what if,” I replied, unable to keep my fear at bay, “What if she doesn’t forgive me.” “Well then,” Dr. Jones said matter of factly, “it won’t happen in this instance.” As it came to pass in the warp of woof of this old life, that’s what happened. My fears were realized. I wasn’t forgiven. The engagement ring I had given in hope was returned in anguish . And with it, an entire future I had begun to imagine for myself was returned insufficient . Now, as you know, I eventually landed Amanda . And she’s no consolation prize. So it all worked out for me in the long run. But I didn’t know that at the time. And it didn’t diminish the heartache and anxiety I experienced in the moment, either.   This morning, each one of us walked through those doors carrying no less di...

in a different way A sermon on the beginning of Paul's Galatian epistle : You don’t have to be a Bible scholar to realize that St. Paul isn’t happy with the folks at Faith Lutheran in Galatia. After a brief introduction containing his credentials and succinct greeting praising the liberating work of God in Christ Jesus, Paul turns his attention to the Galatians. And he doesn’t beat around the bush with them, either. “I am astonished ,” St. Paul says. And before you can wonder if he’s astonished in a good way, he lets you know what’s got him so flabbergasted. “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ…,” Paul says.   What’s got St. Paul, a man whose nearly seen it all before, so taken aback, is that he’s never met such a group of fast turncoats before! “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting ,” breathes Paul. And do you know what the Galatians have gone and done that has provoked St. Paul’s ire so? Well, they wen...

to start something new A sermon on the closing of Galatians I was about 26 when I served as a chaplain for my training to be a pastor. …Can you imagine that? Asking for a chaplain and having some fresh -faced twenty-something walk into your hospital room? It’s not hard for me to imagine, though. The folks I visited let me know exactly what they thought. “ You CAN’T be the chaplain,” they’d blurt , “you’re just a kid .”   During that time, I thought, once I’m ordained , then I won’t have to prove I’m really a card-carrying member of the clergy anymore. Only, that’s not what happened. After all, I was ordained just a couple of measly years after that. Plenty of you can remember those days. And while I don’t think anyone was so frank as to say I couldn’t be a pastor, it was made clear , in so many ways, that my youth was a scandal. In fact, I remember complaining about this to an older, wiser pastor. I asked him what he thought I should do. Grinning , he rubbed his bald...