July 7, 2024 The Presidential debates of this past June were met by many with frustration and anxiety; they felt like one more sign of the dysfunction and malaise hanging over our political world. Pastor Rob reflects on Mark 6 when Jesus sends out his disciples. The world they lived in was a world of brutal political and social realities. Yet Jesus…

June 30, 2024 Sickness is like an iceberg in that we often only see the tip of the situation. The Gospel writer Mark takes us on a deep dive into the emotional undercurrents of illness, exploring what is going on in the hearts of the families of two women who are healed by Jesus (Mark 5:21-43). These stories speak to the reality of our emotions, bu…

Sunday, June 23 "Do you not care that we are perishing?" The disciples cry out to Jesus, who is asleep during the storm. Inevitably, we will go through storms. We will encounter hard times and observe terrible situations in the world. We will wonder where God is in the midst of all of this. Is Jesus sleeping? During these times, we or those whom we…

June 16, 2024 Did you know that a butterfly flapping its wings can change the path, intensity and even existence of a massive storm, like a tornado or hurricane!? “The Butterfly Effect” is the term to describe how in a complex and interconnected system, the smallest change of one variable can lead to a big change in the outcome. As Christians, we’v…

June 9, 2024 Things go wrong for Jesus after his “graduation” – he leaves town, makes friends with the wrong people, gets in trouble with the law and finds religion. When he gets home, its a bit too much for his family who confront him about this. At this point, things get even worse, with him renouncing them (Mark 3:20-35) The end? Because our God…

Holy Trinity 2024 (Also Confirmation!) Decisions, decisions, decisions!! Life is full of decisions; for young people, each decision comes with so many options. Their life feels very much like a “Choose you own adventure” story: What to study, whom to befriend, whom to love, where to live, what teams to try out for… This all sounds exciting, except …

Pentecost 2024 (May 19) Life speed is fast and only gets faster. As life gets faster, making sense of life becomes harder and harder to do. A reflection on where we go to find still waters. (Hint: Today is Pentecost, the birthday of the church!) Also, an admission of what to do when, no matter what, it doesn’t fully make sense!…

Ascension 2024 (May 12) Pastor Rob reminds us of the crafty gifts we gave to our mothers on Mother’s Day (and other such days) using a poem called “Lanyard.” While such gifts are sentimental and cute, they really don’t adequately repay the mother for all that she has done. The disproportional love of parent to a young child is a great illustration …

Easter V (April 28, 2024) “He removes every branch in me that does not bear fruit.” These words often sound threatening and cause us to ask: “Am I one of the branches that will be pruned or not?” Pastor Rob invites us to see this a bit differently. Rather than be concerned with “Who is in and who is out?” instead we are to ask ourselves “Which me i…

Easter IV 2024 (April 14) Good Shepherd Sunday The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd powerfully communicates the fundamental truth “God loves you.” When push comes to shove, this is the fundamental truth we live by and we want to pass on to the next generation of faith. However, there is another vital truth – even embedded in Psalm 23 – that we w…

Easter III (April 14, 2023) This past week our nation was fascinated and delighted by the eclipse. It was a reminder of the glory of the heavens, the place where the beauty and complexity of the creation bears witness to the creator. This past week our nation was heartbroken and afraid of violence and further escalation around the world, particular…

Easter Sunday 2024 (March 31) We live in an age of pessimism, in which it is easy to be cynical about present and gloomy about the future. The women who go to the tomb of Jesus had every reason to be pessimistic, cynical and gloomy (Mark 16). Yet they do not succumb to this attitude, but choose instead to do an act of love, courage and hope. From w…

Palm Sunday 2024 (March 24) Throughout his ministry, Jesus transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary: donkeys, jugs of water and scraps of food. Again and again, through faith, the ordinary becomes an extraordinary vessel of God’s love. He further sends out his disciples to unbind things, animals and people so that which is unbound, the ordina…

Lent 5 (March 17, 2024) Jesus was the most empathetic human who has ever lived. But for Jesus, like for all humans, empathy exposes him to the pain and suffering of others. In the cross, this empathy is taken to another level, a wholly divine level, whereby Jesus fully empathizes and fully takes on our suffering, shame and sin. This brings him to c…

Lent 4 (March 10, 2024) “Into your hands, I commend my Spirit”, Jesus from the cross, praying Psalm 31:5 In life, we will hear the phrase “Let go and Let God!” What does this look like? Jesus here seems to be embodying this letting Go and letting God, resigning himself, surrendering control and putting his life in God’s hands. This certainly is Let…

Lent 3 (March 3, 2023) “Woman, behold your son; behold your mother.” Jesus today creates a new family – an authentic community out of people who have experienced trauma and heartache. As we go through life, we often encounter the need for new relationships and for authentic community. Today’s reflection is about how we often look for it in various …

Lent 2 (February 25, 2024) “Today you will be with me in Paradise”; Jesus, Luke 23:43 We long for paradise, a world in which mercy has the last word and God’s peace reigns. But so much evidence mounts in our lives that the opposite is true: armed violence writes the story of judgement and retribution. In this story, we hear of Jesus extending beaut…

First Sunday of Lent (February 18, 2024) Word of the Cross: I thirst (John 19:28) Jesus’s cry of “I thirst” reminds us, even reveals to us, that he is human. The ancient church confessed that Jesus is “truly human.” Pastor Rob explores what it means for Jesus, not just to be human, but to be “truly human”: Faith in the face of human death Compassio…

Transfiguration Sunday (February 11, 2024) After the super bowl tonight, reporters will ask the players “How does it feel to win the Super Bowl?” Chances are, none of them will say anything remotely coherent. The event is too overwhelming for them. Today, we remember the Transfiguration of our Lord (Mark 9:2-10), certainly an overwhelming event for…

Sunday, February 4 (Epiphany 5) Often in life we must say “no” to something in order to say “yes” to something else. In today’s Gospel (Mark 1:29-39), Jesus says “no” to stay in the town where he was. He says “no” to the expectations of the disciples and he says “no” to healing people there. He does this so he can say “yes” to God’s purpose in his …

When in your life have you encountered something that you considered not just bad or wrong, but evil? In the Gospel of Mark, we hear a story of Jesus encountering evil (Mark 1:21-28). While Mark tells the story so briefly that one might be tempted to overlook it, further reflection forces one to recognize the connection between how evil works in th…

January 21, 2021 (3rd Sunday after Epiphany) “After John (the Baptist) was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee began to proclaim the Good News…” (Mark 1:14) The arrest of John meant Jesus could no longer continue with business as usual. In our lives, we often encounter situations in which we cannot go back to life as it was. What have been those situ…

Baptism of Jesus (January 7, 2024) Have you kept your resolutions? Pastor Rob offers a word of encouragement and challenge to refine and revitalize your resolutions in light of Jesus’ Baptism. (Didn’t make resolutions — not a problem — this sermon is what Jesus baptism and our baptisms mean for the direction and purpose of our lives).…

Christmas II (Dec 31, 2023) You beat the level Mario — but as it turns out, they moved the real princess to another castle! It is a metaphor for life, where the goal posts of achievement always seem to be moving. Questions, based on the story of the Magi and their gifts, which are an invitation to move out of doing life as it is a video game. If yo…

Christmas Eve 2023 Christmas songs stir many memories; some bring us comfort and warmth, but others bring us grief. The whole Christmas season is filled with many memories and layers of emotion. Pastor Rob unpacks how the Christmas story, as told by Luke (2:1-20), has a layer of lament, a song of grief. In this story, we can also find our own song …