Last week prior to lunch at the Common Art program, I wondered what they would be serving for lunch that day. If it was something I liked, I would join the others; if not, I would grab something later to eat. I realized, for the first time in the months that I have interned with Emmanuel Church, that to have the option to choose what I eat that day is a privilege that many of our members do not have. Furthermore, there are a number of choices most take for granted that our members may not have access to. It struck me that the lack of choice could is insidiously destructive as personal choices define who we are or aspire to be. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: February 2016
Our Mother Hen
Second Sunday in Lent (C), February 24, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 I am your shield.
Philippians 3:17-4:1 He will transform the body of our humiliation.
Luke 13:31-35 How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.
Philippians 3:17-4:1 He will transform the body of our humiliation.
Luke 13:31-35 How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.
O God whose glory is mercy, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.
Today’s choice of a Gospel text for the second Sunday in Lent strikes me as a little strange. It’s strange to be catapulted from the first week of Lent, from Luke’s account of Jesus before his ministry began, resisting all sorts of temptations in the wilderness, past miles of travel, teaching and healing all around the Galilee and beyond, to the middle of the Gospel of Luke, at the end of chapter thirteen. (Next week the scheduled portion is back at the beginning of chapter 13.) The slow, almost leisurely pace of Jesus’ ministry in Luke which includes magnificent story-telling, prayer and Sabbath meals gets completely eclipsed in our Lenten readings from Luke’s Gospel. Our lectionary saves all that for the summer. Continue reading
What Love Looks Like (with audio)
Second Sunday in Lent (C), February 21,2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Lenten Disciplines
First Sunday in Lent, February 14, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you.
Romans 10:8b-13 The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart.
Luke 4:1-13 It is written…it is written…it is said.
O God of hope, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.
We began our worship service this morning with a doubly long musical prayer and we will end with a doubly long musical sermon, so as we make our way through the middle, I want to offer you some very brief reminders and suggestions about how you might begin this season of Lent. I have three reminders and four suggestions for you. First reminder: the word Lent comes from the Middle English word for Spring. It is a word that embodies hope. (Especially on a cold day like today!) For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the days are getting longer and lighter. In churchy terms, Lent is the season when we get ready for Easter. So in a religious sense, too, Lent is a word that embodies hope. It’s not hope in something that may happen – it’s hope in something that has already happened and keeps happening. One of the amazing and wonderful truths of the Easter story, though, is that resurrection doesn’t care whether people are ready or not. Just like gravity doesn’t care whether we are ready or not – or whether we like it or not – or even whether we believe it or not.
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Balancing Compassion for Self and Others
There is a woman at Common Art who doesn’t like me. Well I’m actually not sure if she doesn’t like me or if I remind her of someone she dislikes, but either way, I’m now the target of her provocative remarks. This doesn’t necessarily offend me because I honestly don’t take it personally, but it does intimidate me. I am intimidated by the idea of offending someone so deeply that they show disdain for me. I have started to withdraw into myself while in her presence because I felt like I am insulting her by merely existing. When I began notice that I was withdrawing, I knew something had to change; I cannot properly serve a community if I am retreating internally. I do not want to disengage from the Common Art community, so I decided to nip this problem in the bud by going to my supervisors for advice. Continue reading
Exodus
Last Sunday after the Epiphany, February 7, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Exodus 34:29-35 Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:12 Since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry we do not lose heart.
Luke 9:28-43a And all were astounded by the greatness of God.
O God of glory, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.
One of the benefits for me of sharing the pulpit of Emmanuel Church with a Rabbi is that it challenges and changes the way I encounter Holy Scripture. My sensitivity to the need for “corrective lenses” is heightened. My desire to preach against the ways that the Christian Church has promoted supersessionist theology gets stronger every year. Supersessionism is very much like racism – it’s systemic, it’s oppressive, it’s often internalized, unexamined, and always wrong. It distorts our vision and injures our souls. Continue reading