Pr. Cheryl Walenta Gorvie Sermon - blog

Alleluia!  Christ is risen.   Christ is risen indeed.  Alleluia!  This is our call-and-response refrain every Easter Sunday.  Because we’re not only witnesses of the resurrection.  We are more than mere spectators.  We are participants in the proclamation!  Alleluia!  Christ is risen.  Christ is risen indeed.  Alleluia!    We say these words even if we’re not sure what they mean!  What’s an alleluia anyway?  Well, the short answer is: it’s the Latin-ized form of the Hebrew wo

I never imagined John’s Gospel could be a love story.    But this is the amazing thing about returning to the same old stories—in God’s Word, there is always something new to learn because the Holy Spirit is always revealing something new.  (I’ve been at this pastoring and preaching thing for long enough that maybe I’ve forgotten stuff I used to know, and maybe that’s why it feels brand new again.)  But the world is always a little different, and God’s Word is connected with

This year, we already know the bad news.  It’s around us every day, the horrors of war, the painful realities of hunger and people losing their jobs or losing their homes, the stress of rising costs for everyday items including gas.  So during this season of Lent, we didn’t need more bad news, more focus on sin or penitence or giving up the things that bring us joy.  We have focused instead on good news—isn’t that why we’re here, to celebrate Jesus as the Gospel of Good News?

Whenever you hear a refrain, a callback, a repeated reference—this is when you know you’re supposed to be paying attention.  The words should stick with you.  It’s like when someone dies, someone you really loved, especially if their death was unexpected, or maybe you weren’t ready to say goodbye—you might not remember the last thing you said to that person.  You might not remember their last words, the last thing they said to you.    But you’re likely to remember the things

God does not see as humans see—God can see and understand the human heart.  And as humans, we can barely admit how limited our sight truly is—we think we know everything, or at least we think we know enough to judge righteousness.  Jesus reminds us of our limitations, what we cannot know nor understand nor even see.    John’s Gospel is full of themes of light and dark, even to the point of mentioning the time of day in stories of Jesus-the nighttime conversation with Nicodemu

One thing about encountering Jesus is that light will be involved somehow.  In John’s Gospel, light and daytime come up frequently, as themes aligned with seeing and understanding, whereas darkness and nighttime align with not-seeing and lack of understanding.   Last week’s Gospel lesson was the story of Nicodemus, a rabbi who approached Jesus at night-time, asking questions but not understanding Jesus’ answers. Today’s Gospel lesson has Jesus approaching a woman at mid-day,

Barbara Brown Taylor is an Episcopal priest, a phenomenal preacher, and author of several books, including this one, Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others .  I looked to this book for what the author says about Nicodemus, but she also has a lot to say about the nature of what we can know about God—and what we cannot know about God.  Now seems like a particularly good time to notice what we hold in common with our neighbors and fellow people of faith, seeking peace rat

Have you ever had a conversation with the devil?  Apparently that’s a thing that can happen, according to the Scripture lessons we’ve read for this morning.  Maybe you haven’t argued with the actual devil, but have you ever felt like  you did?    In the Gospel lesson from Matthew, we learn that Satan knows Scripture.  When tempting Jesus to jump from the top of the Temple, Satan suggests this is a reasonable idea since “He will command his angels concerning you” and “on their

Ash Wednesday is not just about you.  Don’t get me wrong—Ash Wednesday does involve you, as the sooty ashes are maybe tickling your forehead right now.  But we don’t get together to observe Ash Wednesday solely for the purpose of purifying our own individual selves through acts of penitence, like smearing our foreheads with ashes.    We’re not here to flog ourselves out of guilt for our sin, mercilessly punishing the flesh that has been created in the image of God.  We’re de

(Sitting with the children) Since Jesus talked about salt, I thought today would be a good day to do some baking.  Okay, we’re not going to really bake anything, but I have all these baking ingredients in jars.  Some of these ingredients look the same as others—which of these is flour?  Baking powder?  Baking soda?  Sugar and salt?  But how can you tell which ingredient is which?  By the box it comes in.  But if it’s out of the box, how do you know?  Maybe you gotta taste it?

I’m gonna be honest with y’all: there are some texts in the Scriptures that I get tired of preaching about because I’ve read and studied them so many times, and the Beatitudes are one of these.  I barely pay attention because I think I already know all there is to know—“Blessed are the poor, blah blah blah.”    But if I have learned anything about the commitment to wisdom, it’s this: the very moment that I feel the boredom rising is a signal to pay even closer  attention.  Be

Downtown Minneapolis skyline It’s hard for me to imagine what it’s like to live in an occupied territory, where I hardly feel safe leaving my house, where neighbors occasionally go missing.  But I’ve been told this is what it’s like to live under an occupation in Minneapolis right now, with the occupying force known as ICE (United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement) roaming the streets.    One of our neighbors, Pastor Meagan McLaughlin from Christ Lutheran Church in W

What are you looking for?  If you came here looking for God, you picked a good place.  And a good time: this liturgical season of Sundays after Epiphany is all about the revealing of God, exploring who Jesus is and how Jesus reveals to humanity the attributes of God.    If you’re looking for clear proof of who Jesus is, well, that depends on who you’re willing to listen to.  What we have are testimonies from the Gospels—the four Gospels in our Bible (what are they named?  Mat

John the Baptist promised fire—remember what he was preaching in the wilderness?  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” [1]   He tells people that the one coming after him will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  John is looking for a flamethrower, and what he gets is Jesus.    Is John surprised by Jesus?  Was Jesus not what he expected?  Jesus didn’t show up with any of the fire that John had promised!  Jesus simply shows up, demonstrating the humble si

News flash: sometimes people travel.  Maybe even you have traveled recently, to visit friends or family or explore something new during some holiday time.  And if you did travel, did you have to carry a passport with you, or proof that you are a citizen of some country?  Were you allowed to bring luggage with you, or were you forced to leave it behind?  Were your bags searched, or were you asked to provide an inventory of what was inside?  Did your luggage get lost along the