RoboPreacher

The odd pairing of God and human history Exodus 3:7-12 Prayer: Please pray with me. God, you bid us “so come.” Invite us into your realm of compassion, and when we weary, grow afraid, or experience confusion, remind us of your promise, “I will be with you.” ~Amen. Intro: Good morning, my name is Ryan Cosgrove, and I am an intern at the Lutheran Public Policy Office, as well as St. John United in North Seattle. I grew up in Iowa, and am attending seminary at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. My goal is to become an ordained pastor, like Rev. Kindem. Part of this process of ordination is a year-long internship. So, I am the fellow who got to leave the mid-Atlantic area, come to the mild winters, mountains and waters of the Northwest for a year of internship. Pretty lucky, right? Also, I would like to send greetings on behalf of everyone at the LPPO, and personally, I thank you for the opportunity to be with you today. Not only am I thankful today, I am ...

Matthew 3:13-17 Prayer : Lord, may the words of my lips, and the meditations of all our hearts fulfill all righteousness, O Lord. Amen. I remember my baptism. Or at least I think I do. I may have looked at the picture so many times that I have formed a memory out of it. Anyway, I don’t remember this because I was an infant with an extraordinary memory. I remember this because I wasn’t baptized as an infant. Nope, my mom wasn’t really going to church when I was born, so I wasn’t baptized. Four years later, though, my little brother, Cody, was born. At this point, my Dad’s mom, my grandmother insisted we get baptized. I never heard the conversation myself, but when I was older my Mom told me about it. She told me how my grandmother insisted my brother and I be baptized to stay out of hell. I mean, heaven forbid, what if something should happen to Cody, or me? My Mom was, and is, and excellent theologian. She knew better. My Mom, more importunately, is also a good daughte...

Matthew 3:13-17 I will be preaching January 9 (The first Sunday after the Epiphany, The Baptism of Jesus). At first I wasn’t too interested in this story. Lately, though, I’ve been drawn in by interesting nuances; two, specifically: First , when Jesus comes to John to be baptized we hear that John would have prevented him. I find this hesitation of John to be understandable, and apparently Matthew does too. After all, a little before this reading, John says that he is unworthy to carry Jesus’ sandals . However, Jesus insists that this baptism is necessary to fulfill all righteousness. (Side note, I am unsure exactly what righteousness must mean . A few verses earlier Joseph is described as righteous because he is willing to dismiss Mary quietly . ) What is striking to me, though, is that John’s religious expectations influenced how he imaged God. You see, while John is lauding Jesus, John makes that point that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and Fire. Not only will t...

Luke 2:1-14 Prayer: God, may the words of my lips and the meditations of all our hearts be part of the proclamation; “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among all those God favors.” Amen. “O’ holy night, O’ silent night,” This story, it just seems to capture the holiness, the silence, the stillness we associate Christmas with. What is about this story the invites us into those quite places? This story, for me, evokes memories of standing barefoot in my parent’s house, tiptoeing on cold feet to look out the backdoor. I don’t know why, but on Christmas Eve, in the bleak midwinter, the world seemed especially holy and still to me. It felt like things were just ripe for something holy to break through those dark blue Midwestern skies… When I hear this story, I get that same feeling. And, I suspect, I am not alone. What is it about this story? Why does it arrest our imagination so? Why does this story about a birth draw us into those still, quiet and h...