RoboPreacher

as long as somebody takes me home A sermon on the widow at Zarephath and Elijah : Here we are. And on the one hand, it doesn’t appear as though very much is happening at all. Does it? You’re sitting there . I’m standing here . And yes, I’m talking , but that’s about it .   But you know what? Something is happening! And not just something, either. No, a lot is happening! God, in all the fullness thereof, is happening ! Yes, I’m speaking, but the words are not mine. No, God , God is coopting them! The Holy Spirit is filling them with Christ himself ! Whatever else you’re hearing, it’s not just mere words. No, it’s Christ the Word made flesh , made word again , and presently taking flesh in these words once more! This means it’s not just the speaking God has a hand in! No, God is also coopting your hearing! Christ is riding the breath of the Holy Spirit on these words to travel down your ear canal and into your heart! And the Holy Trinity is doing all this to bring about t...

he meant an entire life of repentance... Reformation 500 has come and gone… For years we’ve been talking about how big of a deal this is. But as the big day approached, it became more and more clear, "business as usual” was directing our affairs. Practical as that may be, what Martin Luther set off 500 years ago interrupted “business as usual.” In fact, folks who were sympathetic to his reforms, suggested Luther back off a little because they were disrupting “business as usual” too much! When did we as a church become more committed to “business as usual,” than the Gospel?   And, don’t think I’m trying to soak the ELCA here, I include myself in this … (Quickly, I think the ornaments were a cool exception to what I’m thinking about) Yes, the “to-do” list never ends anymore. Plenty of usual business calls for our attention. But I can’t help but wonder, how many of these “to-do’s,” really need to be done? What things do we do as the church, just bec...

i keep waiting forever. ( Editor's Note : This post is only tangentially related to the Advent-project. This is a reflection I gave on 12/12 at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg , during the chapel-service. This reflection discusses the intersection of theology and practice, as we wait for God's reign of justice. For those who are unfamiliar, or uninterested, in Lutheran theological categories this post will be "most unsatisfactory." Mea culpa!) Luke 3:7-18 : I had enough. I was tired of it. No, that morning I would not be waking up early. That morning I would not be running in the cold before class. No. I didn’t need to, I had already secured my position on the varsity team. Nope, I was not going to run that morning. Upon retrospect I can see I was throwing a tantrum. Petty fit or not, feeling arrogant that morning, I decided I would not go to cross-country practice. And I didn’t... … And I also had to run with the underclassmen for a week after...