Harrowing Of Hell

Category: Kingdom of God

Jesus Christ as King

Sermon | November 23, 2014

November 23, 2014, The Rev. Kate Wesch preaching

So, what is that, “Christ the King Sunday?” It’s the Christian New Year’s Eve. Our liturgical year BEGINS with Advent, which starts next Sunday. We spend half of our time living the incarnation that is Advent through the Feast of Pentecost and the other half in “Ordinary Time” which is only now ending. Christ the King Sunday marks the end of Ordinary Time.

The Call of Gideon

Sermon | September 24, 2014

September 21, 2014, The Rev. Kate Wesch preaching

As a species, we seem to harbor an overly healthy amount of self-doubt, particularly when something is outside our comfort zone. So in today’s sermon, I’m going to introduce a new theme building upon what Doyt has been talking about from this pulpit. Two weeks ago, Doyt stood up here and said, “We need to talk.” Last Sunday, he said, “I’m sorry. You are forgiven.” We need to talk. I’m sorry. You are forgiven. I’m going to add: Just do it. I believe in you.

A Parable Is an Earworm

Sermon | July 27, 2014

July 27, 2014, The Rev. Kate Wesch preaching

Today’s gospel feels like a riddle. In twenty short verses, we have six parables within parables. It is a nesting box of metaphors and similes for the kingdom of heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, yeast, treasure, a merchant, a net, and the master of a household. Take your pick; find an image that works for you. In his book The Parables of the Kingdom, C.H. Dodd wrote: “At its simplest, a parable is a metaphor or simile, drawn from nature or the common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought.” A parable is an earworm.

How to Receive Gifts

Sermon | July 13, 2014

July 13, 2014, The Rev. Doyt Conn preaching

Today’s sermon is about gifts and how we receive them. We might think it is easy. “Yeah, thanks for the gift.” And maybe it is, but I can’t help wondering: with so much universal access to whatever we want, whenever we want it, the way we want it, have we lost sight of the blessing of how to receive a gift and the way in which gifts magnify our souls?

The Holy and The Human

Sermon | February 23, 2014

February 23, 2014, The Rev. Kate Wesch & The Rev. Doyt Conn preaching

In The Saint John’s Bible, on the second page showing Leviticus 19, there is a little bird in the margin. It has a rope in its talons running down the side of the text and at the bottom it is attached to a box of text. The bird’s beak points to the place above where the text should be inserted. This is one of my favorite things about this work of art. It is holy and yet, it is human like we are.