Sermon: Sunday, August 17, 2014: Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

This Caananite woman could be anyone. She could be the mother in Gaza or in Israel calling for an end to violence and a lasting peace so that her child can be released from the torment of growing up with one eye always toward the sky. She could be the mother waiting with her children to be sent back to a life of violence and hunger when just beyond the walls of her detention center there are tables overflowing with food, and plenty of scraps and more to be shared. 9720539-largeShe could be the mother marching in the streets, scrubbing blood off the sidewalk, weeping for her son. She could be your neighbor here in Logan Square, fighting for an affordable apartment in a zip code where condos sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, wondering if there isn’t still a crumb to be shared with her family as well.

Sermon: Sunday, August 10, 2014: Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Texts:  Genesis 37:1-4,12-28  +  Psalm 105:1-6,16-22,45b  +  Romans 10:5-15  +  Matthew 14:22-33British comedian John Oliver has a new show on HBO that airs on Sunday nights called “Last Week Tonight.” Following in the style of John Stewart or Steven Colbert, Oliver doesn’t claim to be a newscaster, but his comedic take on the events of … Continue reading Sermon: Sunday, August 10, 2014: Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Sermon: Sunday, August 3, 2014: Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Texts:  Genesis 32:22-31  +  Psalm 17:1-7,15  +  Romans 9:1-5  +  Matthew 14:13-21 “What is your name?” “What is your name?” is the question the divine figure asks Jacob at the end of a long night of wrestling by the river.  On its own it’s not a very remarkable question. In fact aside from, perhaps, “how … Continue reading Sermon: Sunday, August 3, 2014: Eighth Sunday after Pentecost