A sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year C John 12:1-8 The table was set for Thanksgiving dinner.  Family and invited guests began happily to devour the feast before us.  In due course, the small talk started. “Have you seen it yet?” Jane, a seminary classmate of mine asked me.  I knew what she meant but I played a little dumb.  “You know,” she continued, “the latest Harry Potter movie?” “Yeah, I saw it,” I said, hoping she might drop the subject. “Well, what did you think?” she asked with interest.  At this point, even in seminary, I had … Continue reading An Uncomfortable Meal

A Sermon for the Third Sunday of Lent Exodus 3:1-15; Psalm 63:1-8; I Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9 I don’t suppose it was really a surprise when, on January 12th, the day that a 7.0 earthquake devastated the island nation of Haiti, televangelist Pat Robertson issued a statement that suggested the earthquake was a result of a deal that Haitians had made some 200 years ago with the devil.  This indeed was not a surprise for those of us who keep track of such pronouncements by people like Pat Robertson or the late Jerry Falwell.  They issued a joint statement after Hurricane … Continue reading The Sin of Haiti