23 Pentecost C—10/23/16 Jer. 14:7-10,19-22; Psalm 84:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18; Luke 18:9-14 Pr. Scott Kramer “There but for the grace of God go I.” In response to another person’s misfortune or tragedy, have you ever found yourself saying or thinking these words? “Sucks to be you!” is how we might put it in contemporary language. This is the spirit of the Pharisee in Jesus’ story, a man who has ordered his world into familiar categories of good and bad. I thank God that I am not like those … [Read more...]
Loyalty or Love?
8 Pentecost C—7/10/17 Deuteronomy 30:9-14; Psalm 25:1-10; Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37 Pr. Scott Kramer On our day off this past week my wife and I did what we often do this time of year: head into the mountains for a hike. Hikers have a list of what’s called the Ten Essential systems: Map and compass (navigation), sunglasses and sunscreen (sun protection), extra clothing (insulation), headlamp (illumination), matches (fire), repair kit, extra food (nutrition), extra water … [Read more...]
Hen and Chicks
2 Lent C—2/21/16 Genesis 15:1-12,17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35 Pr. Scott Kramer You may recall that Sunday readings for the season of Lent began last week with the story of Jesus’ temptations. We were reminded that the temptations Jesus experienced during his life were much like those that we face: very ordinary, very every-day. One of the greatest of these ordinary temptations is the desire to create a God in our own image. You may remember from the Book of Genesis that … [Read more...]
Stoned Prophets
Second Sunday in Lent February 21, 2016 Luke 13:31-35 Melody Kroeger The Attorney General of the United States came to warn him. “We have reports that there’s a sniper in the outskirts of Montgomery waiting to shoot Dr. King.” King refused to leave his supports behind and seek safety in a northern state. “I don’t care what happens,” Dr. King told his advisors, “I have to march and I have to be in the front line”. Martin Luther King was in trouble. The same sort of trouble that … [Read more...]
Higher and Lower
4 Advent C—12/20/15 Micah 5:2-5a; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-55 Pr. Scott Kramer Something earthshaking happened in Paris, France, recently. Do you remember? Did you notice? Maybe it’s the terrorist attacks a little over a month ago that come to mind, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Soon after that tragedy, from November 30th to December 12th, the nations of the world came together in Paris for the 2015 Climate Change Conference. By the end of the conference, each nation had agreed to … [Read more...]
Go to Zarephath
24 Pentecost B—11/8/15 1 Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44 Pr. Scott Kramer How many times in your life have you been fired from your job? Football coach Jim White had been fired three times. He'd burned his bridges. The only job he could get was in the small town of McFarland, at a public school for the children of Latino farm workers in California’s Central Valley. The year was 1987. McFarland’s football team was hopeless. But the new coach realized that … [Read more...]
Eye of the Needle
Mark 10:17-31 By Melody Kroeger October 11, 2015 It is, for all intents and purposes, a compelling image: the camel going through the eye of a needle. In my experience sitting in churches, both large and small, this verse from the Gospel of Mark always raises eyebrows. And, when it is proclaimed the text will almost invariably come with a generic defense of riches, to allow the financial comfortable to remain comfortable. This sort of defense usually takes one of several options. The … [Read more...]
A Rabbi Walks Into a Bar…
18 Pentecost B—9/27/15 Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29; Ps. 19:7-14; James 5:13-20; Mark 9:38-50 Pr. Scott Kramer (a story, based on Mark 9:38-50) So, a rabbi walks into a bar… It had been a long day of preaching and teaching. The rabbi looks around, and sees that it’s a mixed crowd. Some in the crowd are movers and shakers in the local community. They’re well-heeled, accustomed to getting what they want, successful, respected, and they are religious. Most in the crowd, though, … [Read more...]
Love and Justice
15 Pentecost B—9/6/15 Isaiah 35:4-7a; Psalm 146; James 2:1-17; Mark 7:24-37 Genesis 1:1-25; Romans :18-23; John 1:1-14 Pr. Scott Kramer Over the past couple of Sundays we have heard Jesus teach that religion, tradition, and ritual are “worthless”…unless they lead us to a deeper understanding of God’s love and a deeper practice of God’s love for all people! Today we begin the Season of Creation, which congregations of many denominations around the world observe this year—and every … [Read more...]
Choose Love
5 Pentecost B—5/3/15 Acts 8:26-40; Psalm 22:25-31; 1 John 4:7-21; John 15:1-8 Pr. Scott Kramer Some of us are old enough to remember when Bruce Jenner won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1976 Olympics. Almost forty years later he’s back in the news again, making headlines for a very different reason: Bruce Jenner is transitioning to a woman. Meanwhile, in our nation’s capital the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments for and against the constitutionality of gay marriage. In … [Read more...]