RoboPreacher

he says, "amen & alleluia" A sermon on the ending to Galatian's that's full of new beginnings Here, as Saint Paul concludes his epistle, he finally, and explicitly , names the crux of the issue. In the end , it’s not a matter of this tradition or that. Why it’s not even a matter of flouting this convention or that! Ultimately , ALL that’s beside the point! And altogether , too!   All this talk of having to do this or that OR even not having to do that or this, it’s ALL a bunch of nothing NOW! The only thing that matters anymore , states Saint Paul, is new creation! New creation. At the end of this deeply passionate and thoroughly considered letter on the true nature of the real Gospel , Saint Paul concludes with his eyes straining past the horizon, his finger reaching beyond this thin veil, and two simple words dripping from his lips, “ new creation.” Two simple words. New creation. “ Kai - ne ktis-is,” in Greek . Rendered emphatically by Saint Paul. His ...

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...