The second thing we are commemorating on this day is an idea, a concept about names. When you make a Feast Day for a name, it suggests that names matter. “What’s in a name”, Juliet said from the balcony. “That which we call a rose by any other name would be as sweet,” suggesting that names do not matter. But of course the rest of Shakespeare’s play reminds us that names very much do matter, with rather tragic consequences sometimes when we ignore the importance and the power of a name.
The Closeness of God
In Jesus, we learn what God is thinking. As we remember Jesus's story, we remember that God cares about justice, and God cares about mercy and compassion, and God cares about grace. We learned that God isn't just interested with the rich and the powerful, but God is close to those that we sinfully dispose of and push to the margins. God cares about them and God gets close to them.
Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon for the Sunday after Christmas by clicking “Read More.”
Knitting a Shawl of God's Love
Jesus says follow this way, the way of mercy. "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me." Follow Jesus on the way of mercy, on the way of grace, on the way of love because that is the world view of God. That is the ordering of the world in which a little child can be taken and put in the middle as an exemplar, as Jesus did in our Gospel just a few weeks ago.
Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”
Our Companion on the Way
“Today’s gospel lesson is jam-packed. We have three different characters interacting with Jesus, a healing that comes from a cloak, and the resurrection of a 12-year-old girl. Wow! Our first character is Jairus, the synagogue leader, a man of considerable importance and stature in the Jewish community. Second, there is a woman who is not named, only introduced as “a woman who had been suffering for 12 years.” Her position is doubly lowered, the intersection of being female and afflicted with a debilitating sickness. Two people from very different positions of power. Finally, there’s Jairus’ 12 year-old daughter. A young girl without much agency or power herself, but born into a powerful household. What’s striking to me, is how these people are treated by Jesus, how they approach him in their own ways, and how Jesus responds.”
Click “Read More” to read or listen to Ryan’s sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost.
God in the Windstorm
In most of our readings today we hear about windstorms. Let's start with the Psalm. Psalm 107 is a poem about a series of catastrophes that people find themselves in: lost out in the desert, locked behind iron bars, near death's door, hungry and thirsty. In the section that we sang today they are out at sea, stuck in a windstorm. In each of these sections of the Psalm, after describing the disaster, God saves the people from whatever danger threatens them. Then the Psalmist says, "Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy and the wonders he does for his children."
Click “Read More” to read or listen to Bingham’s entire sermon for the 4th Sunday of Pentecost.
Do You Have Anything to Eat?
Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures, says the gospel. Don’t you wish you were there? Don't you wish he was here, now, to open our minds to understand the scriptures? The bible, so central to our faith and worship, has been used to promote colonialism, genocide and war, racism, slavery and sexism, greed and hatred and disregard for the creation itself. Some find within it no redemption, and turn away. But we, guided by the Holy Spirit, and made one with the post-Easter Christ, find within it freedom and justice, truth and equality, and a world ruled by sacrificial love. We will either regard the Bible as some old relic or as the most precious pertinent thing in the world.
Click Read More to read or listen to Ted’s entire sermon for the 3rd Sunday of Easter.
