Title: Easter in us Date: April 4, 2010 Texts: Isa 65:17-25; Ps 118:1-2, 14-24; Acts 10:34-43 Author: Isaac S. Villegas “Let him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us, be a crimson-cresseted east.” That’s one of the last lines from Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, “The Wreck of the Deutschland.” Let Christ [...]
Title: Bodies Matter, part 2 Date: April 1, 2010 (Holy Thursday) Texts: John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Place: CHMF Author: Isaac Villegas This sermon is titled, “Bodies Matter, part 2,” because I preached “Bodies Matter, part 1” in Cary this morning. Some of us held a footwashing service at a detention center operated by the Immigration and [...]
Title: Bodies Matter, part 1 Text: John 13:1-5 Date: April 1st, 2010 (Holy Thursday) Place: ICE Detention Center, Cary (NC) Author: Isaac Villegas (Note: this sermon was part of a footwashing worship service that was held at a hidden Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center; our footwashing protest received some media coverage: “Protesters hold demonstration” [...]
Title: In the world Texts: Ps 118:1-2, 19-29; Phil 2:5-11 Date: March 28, 2010 Author: Isaac Villegas What does it mean to be Christians in the world? How are we supposed to live as witnesses to God’s love? Those are basic questions for us. But as a way to answer them, I thought I’d stir [...]
Title: An Anatomy of Sin Texts: Lk 15: 11-32 Date: March 14, 2010 Author: Isaac S. Villegas So far, during this season of Lent, we’ve talked a lot about repentance and forgiveness. Now I think it’s time we talked about sin. Why do we want to sin? We know it’s bad for us, or bad [...]
Title: The Time Is Now Date: March 7, 2010 (3rd Sunday of Lent) Texts: Isaiah 55:1-9, Luke 13:1-9 Author: Monica Schmucker The passages this week got me thinking, what is it that motivates people to change? What sparks repentance? It strikes me that Jesus issues a warning to repent and Isaiah an invitation to repent. [...]
Title: “Fruit” Text: John 15:1-5 Date: March 7, 2010 Event: Ervin Stutzman’s installation Author: Isaac S. Villegas A few years ago I started a vegetable garden in our front yard. I was thrilled to see the fruit growing from the long vines—grape tomato vines entangled with large slicing tomatoes, growing into one another, all mixed [...]
Title: Escape Date: February 28, 2010 (Lent 2) Texts: Ps 27, Philip 3:17-4:1, Lk 13:31-35 Author: Isaac S. Villegas The Pharisees want what’s good for Jesus. They respect his ministry and want him to survive. These Pharisees may even consider Jesus a friend of their own ministry. So, according to Luke’s Gospel, “some Pharisees came [...]
Title: Lent as metaphor and reality Texts: Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Luke 4:1-13 Date: Feb 21, 2010 Author: Tom Lehman Lent began four days ago on Ash Wednesday, as it always does. Lent is the least cheerful of the seasons in the Christian year. It is sometimes understood as a time to suspend earthly pleasures. Some [...]
Title: Wurstessen Date: February 17, 2010 Texts: Gen 3:19, Isaiah 58:1-12 Author: Isaac S. Villegas March 9th, 1522. Zurich, Switzerland. It was the middle of Lent. About twelve people got together at the house of Christopher Froschauer and had a feast of sausage. Eating sausage during Lent was strictly forbidden by the church, and back [...]