John 21:15-19 “How’re you doing?” How do you usually answer this question? “I’m fine,” perhaps, or “I’m okay.” In our daily interactions we get asked seemingly polite questions like this over and over, and we are conditioned to respond politely. They don’t want to know your whole life story. Unless they do. But we can’t know their intention—unless …

John 21:15-19 “How’re you doing?” How do you usually answer this question? “I’m fine,” perhaps, or “I’m okay.” In our daily interactions we get asked seemingly polite questions like this over and over, and we are conditioned to respond politely. They don’t want to know your whole life story. Unless they do. But we can’t know their intention—unless …

1 John 5:9-13 John 17:6-19 As your preacher on this seventh Sunday of Easter, I must confess I struggle with a key concept found throughout the gospel and epistles of John. “The world” in these writings is a multi-faceted term. Its meaning shifts and accumulates layers of meaning every time it appears. Sometimes the world is simply the material rea…

1 John 5:9-13 John 17:6-19 As your preacher on this seventh Sunday of Easter, I must confess I struggle with a key concept found throughout the gospel and epistles of John. “The world” in these writings is a multi-faceted term. Its meaning shifts and accumulates layers of meaning every time it appears. Sometimes the world is simply the material rea…

Br. David Vryhof I Corinthians 3:10-14 Matthew 6:19-24 When I was in seminary – now, quite a few years ago – I took a course in preaching. Whether or not it did me any good, I’ll let you decide. One of the things I remember from that class was the professor’s admonition to first seek out the tone and intention of the text, and then craft a sermon t…

Br. David Vryhof I Corinthians 3:10-14 Matthew 6:19-24 When I was in seminary – now, quite a few years ago – I took a course in preaching. Whether or not it did me any good, I’ll let you decide. One of the things I remember from that class was the professor’s admonition to first seek out the tone and intention of the text, and then craft a sermon t…

For your homiletic dessert I have whipped up 500 words about one word. The word is nīké, if you enjoy New Testament Greek; or Nike, if you have ever heard of basketball. “To conquer.” The word “conquer” makes me uncomfortable generally, and even more so when it appears in Scripture. But for those of us who place the Johannine witness at the center …

For your homiletic dessert I have whipped up 500 words about one word. The word is nīké, if you enjoy New Testament Greek; or Nike, if you have ever heard of basketball. “To conquer.” The word “conquer” makes me uncomfortable generally, and even more so when it appears in Scripture. But for those of us who place the Johannine witness at the center …

Isaiah 44:1-8 Psalm 92:1-2, 11-14 John 20:1-9 The summer after I graduated from college, I received a phone call. The caller introduced himself as Agent So-and-so, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I was struck silent for a moment or two. Not least because I was having a mild panic attack: “What did you do, Lain?!” After I recovered, I learne…

Isaiah 44:1-8 Psalm 92:1-2, 11-14 John 20:1-9 The summer after I graduated from college, I received a phone call. The caller introduced himself as Agent So-and-so, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I was struck silent for a moment or two. Not least because I was having a mild panic attack: “What did you do, Lain?!” After I recovered, I learne…

Br. Jack Crowley John 20:1-9 Don’t worry, each of these sermons is only five minutes long. You won’t be here all day. There will be plenty of time for the garden party. One of my favorite parts of today’s Gospel passage is how it is overshadowed by good news. Overshadowed is probably not the right word, so I’ll make one up, maybe overlightened woul…

Br. Jack Crowley John 20:1-9 Don’t worry, each of these sermons is only five minutes long. You won’t be here all day. There will be plenty of time for the garden party. One of my favorite parts of today’s Gospel passage is how it is overshadowed by good news. Overshadowed is probably not the right word, so I’ll make one up, maybe overlightened woul…

Br. Curtis Almquist Psalm 72: 7-8, 12-15, 17 If you have occasion to study a tapestry or quilt, where you can view both the front side and the back side, you often discover that though the front side may be more beautiful, the back side is more instructive and shows all the quite-hidden work that has enabled what is presented on the front side. Tha…

Br. Luke Ditewig Acts 8:26-40 John 15:1-8 Glorious spring is here with green popping up everywhere. Trees bud and flower with abundant, renewed life. Jesus describes himself as the true vine, us as branches, and God as the vine grower. Abide with me, Jesus says. Dwell, remain, stay connected to receive life from me. “Every branch that bears fruit […

John 10:11-18 Acts 4:5-12 1 John 3:16-24 Psalm 23 I’ve been thinking this week a lot about a guy named Paul. Probably not the one you’re thinking of. He lived about fifteen hundred years ago, somewhere in the eastern Mediterranean. We know that this Paul, this specific Paul, lived. And we know absolutely nothing else about him. But we can even know…

Br. Jack Crowley John 6:30-35 My Brothers know that I love to eat. I eat often and I eat a lot. Every monastery has to have that one Brother who’s always hungry, and I’m that guy. So having said that, I must confess that every time I hear Jesus call himself the bread of life, I get a little hungry. One of the many things I love about Jesus is he kn…