11.7.21 All Saints Unbound
mcrigler's podcast
A sermon on John 11: 32:44
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9.12.21 Proper 19B: Speak Wholeheartedly
mcrigler's podcast
Sermon for Sunday, September 12th
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8.22.21 Proper 16B: Power of the Armor of God
mcrigler's podcast
Beloved— especially in such times as of this— my hope and my prayers is that as the writer to the Ephesians says we might “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of [God’s] power.” In a world doubled over in pain and suffering… in a world swirling with disinformation needlessly costing people lives… in a world reeling from the costs to our children of imposing ‘normal’ onto that which is not— in our world I pray that we might “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of [God’s] power” and declare the gospel boldly. From where I stand our world is in...
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8.15.21 Proper 15B: Matter Matters
mcrigler's podcast
sermon on John 6:51-58
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8.1.21 Proper 13B: Individual Right to decide for..
mcrigler's podcast
a sermon on 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a
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7.25.21 Proper 12B: Acceptable Loss
mcrigler's podcast
A sermon on 2 Samuel 11
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7.18.21 11B: Compassion
mcrigler's podcast
A sermon on Marck 6:30-34, 53-56.
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6.13.21 Proper6A: Mustard Seeds
mcrigler's podcast
A sermon for Sunday, June 13th on Mark 4:26-34
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5.23.21 PentecostB: Catch Your Breath
mcrigler's podcast
Sermon on Pentecost (May 23, 2021)
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5.16.21 7thEasterB: Jesus and the Holy Potatoes
mcrigler's podcast
... I cannot help but me mindful of the liturgical moment in which we find ourselves. We are in that 7th Sunday of Easter, in the time between the Ascension of our Lord into heaven and the descending of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, upon the ministers, making the church the church and saying ‘it is time.” And so liturgically and actually we find ourselves in that liminal time of transition. We all know that life has changed, and what it has changed into being has not yet unfurled. We hear in that first chapter of Acts, in the time between Ascension and Pentecost that this the...
info_outline...And for the bridegroom: I’ll be honest, I’m not convinced that this character in the story is Christ. This isn’t the action of the shepherd who leaves the 99 to search for the lost one, the woman who leaves no stone unturned in search of a lost coin. This isn’t the way of love of the Jesus I know and love and follow. When Jesus gets to the end of his kingdom of heaven series (Bridesmaids, Talents, Sheep & Goats), he informs his listeners of who were the truly foolish and who were the truly wise in each of his parables. In the end, Jesus says, those on their way to heaven will be decided by what they gave away, whether they fed the poor, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, visited the sick and imprisoned. Whether they shared what they had. Whether they shared their oil. If they hoarded what they had, they, of course, already enjoyed their reward.The wise on earth have already had their wedding feast, on earth.
And so if we are looking for where Christ is in this parable, then I think the place to look is among those left on the outside. Christ is the one who is found outside the city gates, with the poor, and the marginalized, the outcast and the sinner. Christ is the one who is present with us in the very darkest night on that Holy Saturday. Yes, Jesus is the light of the world and so why would we need to be the ones to supply the light? Moreover, God’s natural habitat is the dark. Before there was light, God was. God creates in the darkness of genesis and recreates in the darkness of the tomb. For God darkness is a generative place of life and resurrection.
Why then should be afraid to wait with God in the dark? In the words of C.S. Lewis’ courageous character Reepicheep: “Are we of Narnia afraid of the dark?”