3 Advent A—12/15/19 Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:5-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11 Pr. Scott Kramer 1The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom. Recently my wife and I made a visit to the Amazon Spheres. The Spheres sit in downtown Seattle--glass and steel geodesic bubbles that house four floors of subtropical garden. Admission is free but they are so popular that you have to book well in advance. I love green living … [Read more...]
The Quiet Place
9 Pentecost B—7/22/18 Jeremiah 23:1-6; Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 Pr. Scott Kramer Friday is our day off together, so this past Friday my wife and I did what we love to do this time of year and that’s hike in the mountains. We drove to Mt. Rainier National Park and started out on the trail. We weren’t alone. The trail follows a major road just outside the park for a mile or more so there was plenty of traffic noise. On the trail itself were dozens of people, and because this is Seattle, everybody has … [Read more...]
Big Vision, New Beginning
1 Advent B—12/3/17 Isaiah 64:1-9; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37 Pr. Scott Kramer In our reading from words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian church: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! It’s the first Sunday in Advent, but today we start with the Christmas story! In our reading from Mark's gospel Jesus cautions his followers to be alert, to be awake. Wise words, for Christmas sneaks up on us fast! There were no shopping malls in Jesus’ day. There was … [Read more...]
Peace On Earth
Peace on earth, goodwill to all. Our church lawn features a traditional-looking sign that displays the church’s name and web page. It’s nothing fancy, just an old-school variety with an open field on which messages have to be manually created, letter by letter. That’s part of the reason the message doesn’t change very often! Last fall, in anticipation of the Christmas season, we posted a simple message that’s often associated with Christmas: Peace On Earth. It hasn’t been changed … [Read more...]
Asleep In The Boat
17 Pentecost C—9/11/16 Job 28:20-27; Psalm 29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; Luke 8:22-25 Pr. Scott Kramer When many people my generation and younger hear the term “U2 incident” we might imagine some disturbance at a rock concert by the Irish band of the same name. Some of you, though, are old enough to know that the original “U2 incident” involved an American spy plane that was shot down in 1960 over Soviet airspace. The 2015 movie Bridge of Spies is based on this event. Some time before the … [Read more...]
Which Star?
2 Advent C—12/6/15 Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 1:68-79; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6 Pr. Scott Kramer (Star Wars theme music) A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John…son of … [Read more...]
Making Peace
25th Sunday After Pentecost 11/15/15 By Melody Kroeger It was ninety-six years Wednesday since the end of the First World War, at 11 o’clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For ninety-six years, since 1919, people have stood silently – at that time, or on the nearest Sunday – to remember the dead of the War that was to end all wars, of the world war that followed it, and the wars that have followed those. We should not forget that the gospel of Mark is a war-time gospel, … [Read more...]
“Down Under” Reflections for Lent: Down Under Water
Having returned from a recent trip to visit family in Australia, Pr. Scott offers reflections on highlights of the experience in light of the season of Lent. One of my “bucket list” goals over the years has been to see the Great Barrier Reef. It’s being affected by climate change so the voices of some observers have taken on a see-it-before-it’s-gone urgency. While in the northern coastal city of Cairns my wife and I took a day trip to a nearby island. There we escaped the summer … [Read more...]
Merry Xmas
Yesterday I changed the church lawn sign to announce “Christmas Eve 4:00” worship. I confess to being a little annoyed at having to spell out “Christmas,” which is much longer than “Xmas.” I was trying to be sensitive to those who object to “Xmas” as a crass or irreverent treatment of the season. I get that. “Xmas” could appear to be a capitulation to popular culture: X-Files, X-Men, xBox, X Factor, and yes, x-rated. But that’s not how I see it. “X” is a cross! The birth of Jesus is just the … [Read more...]
Christmas Truce
As we approach Christmas Eve I find myself preoccupied with “amazing grace.” Specifically, I’m thinking of the Christmas Truce of WWI in which enemies put down their arms and granted the world a glimpse of Isaiah’s vision of turning “swords into plowshares”—or, in this case, soccer balls. This Christmas Eve marks the 100th anniversary of this stupendous moment in history. Tragically—predictably—it was short-lived. Even so, it remains a symbol of hope in a world that seems to have learned little … [Read more...]