23 Pentecost C—11/24/19 Jeremiah 23:1-6; Psalm 46; Colossians 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43 Pr. Scott Kramer It is game day, and kick-off in Philadelphia was forty minutes ago. Congratulations to you if you are a rabid Seahawks fan but are here at worship! This week, I found inspiration from the Seahawks for today’s Christ the King readings; in particular, this Seattle Times article from Thursday about Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney is … [Read more...]
The Power of Love
2 Pentecost C—6/23/19 Luke 8:26-39 Pr. Scott Kramer Who is Dylann Roof? Some of us saw the film Emanuel this past Monday. Four years ago to the day, a young man named Dylann Roof walked into Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. He sat through a Bible study before standing up and shooting nine members of the congregation dead. What possesses a 21 year-old young white man who belonged to an ELCA Lutheran Church to commit such a horrific act against nine … [Read more...]
Judged Worthy of Love
Pentecost 16A—9/24/17 Jonah 3:10--4:11; Matthew 20:1-16 Pr. Scott Kramer When I was a child, one of my favorite Bible stories was the tale of “Jonah and the Whale.” What little kid wouldn’t love the story of someone on a ship who was thrown overboard, swallowed by a huge fish, and spit out unharmed onto dry land? As an adult, this story is still one of my favorites, but not because of the big fish. The story of Jonah represents a very grown-up and difficult truth that all of us eventually must … [Read more...]
Power to Choose
15 Pentecost A—9/17/17 Genesis 50:15-21; Exodus 14:19-31; Matthew 18:21-35 Pr. Scott Kramer This past Friday my wife and I returned from a visit to Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana. Over the course of the week we put almost 1800 miles on the car! Turns out that it was more than just a road journey. For me, it was a spiritual journey, as well. I’d like to share some of that road-trip with you this morning because a lot of what we experienced over the past week ties in with our … [Read more...]
Words for Our Time
11 Pentecost A—8/20/17 Isaiah 56:1,6-8; Psalm 67; Romans 11:1-2a,29-32; Matt. 15:10-28 Pr. Scott Kramer Did you ever think you’d hear Jesus call someone stupid? Matthew 15 is a hard-hitting chapter in which Jesus exposes the hypocrisy and screwed-up priorities of religious people, including his own followers. It’s a chapter that speaks to American Christians in 2017, maybe especially over the past week following the events of Charlottesville, Virginia. The Christian who is deeply convinced of … [Read more...]
Wheat & Weeds
7 Pentecost A—7/23/17 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Pr. Scott Kramer I invite you to turn in your pew Bibles to the very end of John’s gospel, ch. 21. Beginning with v.24: This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Now please turn back a … [Read more...]
Mother’s Milk
5 Easter A—5/1417 Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5,15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14 Pr. Scott Kramer Father. Father father. Father Father Father. Father Father Father Father Father. Today, as you know, is Mother’s Day. Evidently, Jesus didn’t get the memo; in today’s gospel reading he mentions not his mother but his Father no fewer than eleven times! And yet…on this Mother’s Day, we remember that God is not a man. Did you notice? The first words from our second reading are about “mother’s milk!” … [Read more...]
Liars & Lies
1 Lent A17—3/5/17 Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Psalm 32; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11 Pr. Scott Kramer A couple of weeks ago my wife and I traveled to Arizona, which included two days in a remote monastery on a pre-Lenten silent retreat. It was a wonderful experience that you can read about in this month’s newsletter, if you haven’t already. This monastery we visited is surrounded by desert and mountains, similar to what I imagine Jesus saw when Matthew describes him being “led up by the Spirit … [Read more...]
Just Business
4 Epiphany A—1/29/17 Micah 6:1-8; Psalm 15; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Matthew 5:1-12 Pr. Scott Kramer As you know, after worship this morning we will hold our congregation’s annual meeting for 2017. Likewise, on May 20th, Lutheran congregations from around Western Washington will come together for what we call Synod Assembly. These two gatherings are often described as the church’s annual “business meetings.” What would you say is the church’s “business?” Some of us might talk about budgets, … [Read more...]
Love to the Very End
Christ the King—11/20/16 Jeremiah 23:1-6; Psalm 46; Colossians 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43 Pr. Scott Kramer Last Sunday, you may recall, was the end of the world—as has every day since! That includes today, and it’s a special ending. Christ the King Sunday is the last Sunday of the church year. Today’s gospel reading may seem strange. Although we’re still weeks away from Christmas, today’s reading from Luke is from Holy Week, the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, which we won’t hear again until next … [Read more...]