The Same Spirit

A sermon for the second Sunday after Epiphany given at the United Church of Acworth, New Hampshire on January 20, 2013.

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Paul's first letter to the Corinthians is a passionate plea for unity.

Unity in the community of believers.

Christians have made a mistake when reading chapters 12 and 13 of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians.

We have lost sight of the forest while focusing on the trees.

We tend to hear what we want to hear.

But chapter 13, famous chapter 13 is a perfect example.

When we begin to hear “love is patient, love is kind...”

What do we immediately think of?

But what was Paul writing those words for?

Living as Beloved

A sermon for the Baptism of Christ given at the United Church of Acworth, New Hampshire on January 13, 2013.

Isaiah 43:1-7
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

20^th century Catholic priest and writer, Henri Nouwen points out that our lives are fundamentally driven by one question – 'Who are we?' Our lives are lived in response to this question. Our actions and our attitudes are shaped by the answers we give to this question.

Nouwen writes:

"The three answers that we generally live — not necessarily give — are: 'We are what we do, we are what others say about us, and we are what we have,' or in other words: 'We are our success, we are our popularity, we are our power.'¹

This is a fragile life, built on a shaky foundation which can shift in an instant.

By Another Road

A sermon for Epiphany Sunday, January 6, 2013 given at the United Church of Acworth, New Hampshire.

Isaiah 60:1-6

Matthew 2:1-12

Barbara Brown Taylor reminds us that Epiphany is not so obscure a holiday in other places in the world.

“In many parts of the world, Epiphany is a bigger holiday than Christmas, with rituals of gift giving tied to treasure-bearing wise men instead of a jolly fat man in a red suit.  In some places, children leave shoes filled with hay outside their homes.  The hay is for the camels of the wise men, who leave gifts for the children in the shoes as thanks before resuming their journey to Bethlehem.” (Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol. 1, 215)

In Epiphany we recall the journey of the magi to Bethlehem.

We read about their coming to Herod and then to the baby Jesus and his mother Mary.

Herod was not the most stable of characters.