Sermon preached by The Rev. Richard Marsden
Proper 17 C (22)
Jer 2:4-13
Lk 14: 7-14
Psalm 81:1, 10-16

We heard God’s heart this morning— in an accusation and a plea:
And yet my people did not hear my voice, and Israel would not obey me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their hearts to follow their own devices. Oh, that my people would listen to me! That Israel would walk in my ways.

When we were stationed in Germany back in the mid-70s, one of the German cultural obsessions we enjoyed was walking. The Germans loved to walk in the woods -they had miles and miles of paved trails - and would even have special days of walking where you could earn a medal.

On this one particular Saturday, we were out walking on one of these trails with a family we were very close to. This trail wandered through the woods past the remains of an old Roman fortress that marked what was called The Limes; the barrier between the civilized Roman world and the barbarians.

As we walked along, my friend warned his children to avoid the nettles that overhung part of the trail, and he warned them again, and again. With an impish, but not quite demonic smile, young Chris—about six years old– began to stretch out his arm as he continued to look at his dad.

Dad continued to warn him what would happen, but Chris continued to stretch out his arm toward the nettles—closer and closer with each step—continuing to look at his dad with an evermore impish grin. Continue reading ‘Sermon - 29 August 2010’ »

Sermon preached by The Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
13th Sunday after Pentecost

What a week we have had at Redeemer! Some 140 children and almost 60 youth aids as well as many adult teachers were here every morning last week for Vacation Bible School. It was a week full of excitement and enthusiasm with spirited singing, eager learning of the stories of the Bible, and myriad activities. I think everyone who participated felt God’s presence and activity, and surely God must have been pleased at what took place here all week.

You should have seen it. These children were being surrounded by God’s love and the teachings of the Church, and they were soaking it up, and reflecting back that same love. It was a little taste of the kingdom of God here at Redeemer. Continue reading ‘Sermon - 22 August 2010’ »

Sermon Preached by The Rev. Richard Marsden
Proper 15 C
Jeremiah 23: 23-29

The nation had lost touch with the truth—it had disregarded the very thing which gave it its very identity, the thing which made it unique in all the world.

It had risen to prominence from a motley group of settlers to become a very powerful and prosperous nation.

Its strength, its power, its success as a nation was indissolubly connected with the truths – the covenant- that gave it its identity, shaped its very functioning.

Identified and symbolized by a city at its heart from where its leaders ruled, and its most sacred heritage was anchored, the nation’s leaders lost sight of the national identity in favor of what benefits they might reap for themselves. They were interested in the nation’s place amidst the power struggles in the rest of the world, rather than standing for the uniqueness of its own identity—of witnessing to the truths on which their very existence depended.

Religious leaders became open—more flexible in terms of their understanding of God and his place in the culture and society. As a result, morality began to suffer. Things that had been considered to be morally reprehensible a couple of generations earlier became accepted now. The concepts of justice and mercy suffered, as the law itself was disregarded. Continue reading ‘Sermon - 15 August, 2010’ »

Sermon Preached by The Rev. Lance Wallace

Today’s Gospel reading is one which has the ability to relieve and cause anxiety at the same time, rather like when the doctor would tell someone, “Yes, I can take care of the life-threatening problem…. of course, the arm and leg will definitely have to come off.” Jesus says, “Fear not little flock.” For it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. That’s the good news. In fact that is wonderful news! Think about it. It makes God happy to give us the kingdom! Then Jesus says, “Sell your possessions and give the money away.” What? Continue reading ‘Sermon - 8 August 2010’ »

Sermon preached by The Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
The 9th Sunday after Pentecost

Some of you prepare for our worship together on Sunday mornings by reading the lessons appointed for the day ahead of time. If you do that, you realize that we are in the time of the year when we are reading the Gospel according to St. Luke in sequence. Thus, last week we read from Chapter 10 the story of Mary and Martha. Today we picked up where we left off, with the beginning of Chapter 11, where Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. One of the things I love about the lectionary is that if you never open a Bible at home—which I don’t recommend, by the way—if you come to church every Sunday and every major holy day, you are going to hear most all of the New Testament and a good deal of the Old Testament.

As was his custom, Jesus had been praying. His disciples were aware of that fact, and when he finished praying, they asked him to teach them to pray. That was the occasion when he gave them what has become known as the Lord’s Prayer. St. Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer, as you probably noticed, is a little different from St. Matthew’s, which is the one that is better known. Today I will just deal with St. Luke’s version.

The disciples’ request, “Teach us to pray,” is a request commonly heard by priests and pastors today, as it must have been in every generation. It is asked in a variety of ways: What is prayer? Why should I pray? What is the best way to pray? Continue reading ‘Sermon - 25 July 2010’ »

Sermon Preached by The Rev. Lance Wallace

According to the dictionary a hero is a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for brave deeds and noble qualities. We admire heroes. We want to be like them. Typically movies are around heroic figures that through some act of bravery and self-sacrifice save the day or the city or the country, or the world. Or they may overcome some big obstacle and achieve something great.

Frequently we think of soldiers, or policeman, or fireman as heroes for bravery and for self-sacrifice. Sometimes we think of people like Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King as heroes because they stood for noble causes and were martyred for those causes. In the Bible there are different types of heroes and we learn of one in today’s reading from Genesis.

The Genesis reading tells the story of the occasion when the Lord visits Abraham and Sarah at the Oaks of Mamre to tell them that in about a year Sarah will have a child. That’s pretty exciting news! What is Sarah’s response to this announcement? Did she drop down to her knees in gratitude and thanksgiving? Does she begin to weep with joy? No, Sarah laughed. Continue reading ‘Sermon - 18 July 2010’ »

Sermon preached by the Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
The 7th Sunday after Pentecost

We love the Parable of the Good Samaritan, don’t we? For most everyone here, it is a parable we could tell from memory, unlike so much of the rest of the Bible for most Christians. We can barely utter the word Samaritan without adding the word good. Because of this parable, the two are synonymous.

Yet, the people who first heard this parable would not have liked it at all. No doubt, some who heard it might even have thought, “Jesus, I would have liked you a whole lot better if you hadn’t told that story!”

You see, Samaritans and Jews were mortal enemies. In our own Civil War times, it would have been as if Jesus had told the Parable of the Good Yankee, if he was in the South, or the Parable of the Good Rebel, if he was in the North. Or in our own day, it might be the Parable of the Good Muslim Terrorist. Why couldn’t he tell a nice story, with the good neighbor being someone we want to like, rather than someone we want to hate? Continue reading ‘Sermon - 11 July 2010’ »

Sermon by the Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

What did we say at the end of the Gospel? Praise to you, Lord Christ? Did you really mean that? Did you really hear what the Gospel was saying? What we heard in the Gospel appointed for today is what I call some of the hard sayings of Jesus.

Where is the tender Christ who suffers little children to come to him? The comforting Christ who gives hope to the poor? The Christ who cares more for the one lost lamb than the 99 safe in the fold? Where is the Jesus who cries when he hears the news that his good friend Lazarus is dead? These are the images that come to mind when we think of our Lord and our relationship with him. Continue reading ‘Sermon - 27 June 2010’ »

The Rev. Richard Lampert
Pentecost 4
Father’s Day

“What is your name? My name is Legion, for we are many!” Lk. 8.26-39

Mother’s Day (the Second Sunday in May) was always greeted with much enthusiasm in the early 1900‘s. Father’s Day was met with laughter and ridicule by many people and newspapers. Some called it just another campaign to fill the calendar with “mindless commercial promotions.” Some days it’s tough to be a Father, a Mother or a Kid!

Thanks be to God for Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington! In 1909, while listening to a sermon about the newly recognized Mother’s Day in The Central Methodist Episcopal Church, she decided that fatherhood also needed to be honored! She wanted a celebration that would respect fathers like her own. William Jackson Smart (a Civil War veteran) raised his family of six by himself after his wife died giving birth to their last child. Since Sonora’s dad was born in June, she chose to celebrate Father’s Day on June 19, 1910. Today, Father’s Day is celebrated in 55 countries on the third Sunday of June. Today, we honor fathers (and mothers and kids too)! Continue reading ‘Sermon - 20 June 2010’ »

Sermon Preached by the Rev. Richard Marsden
Proper 5 (10) RCL

Luke 7: 11-24

This day some many years ago was a very lonely day for one man; possibly the loneliest of his life.

Some hours before he had made a crucial decision—a decision that was his and his alone to make. This decision put hundreds of thousands of lives at stake and would indeed, he knew, cost hundreds if not thousands of lives. He felt the responsibility for those lives.

It is not far fetched to say that on his one decision the life of nations depended—the future of the world itself rested on this man’s yes or no. Continue reading ‘Sermon - 6 June 2010’ »