Sermons

Let Us Not Mock God with Metaphor

That part of the world that still gives Christianity a second thought will, out of respect for it, conclude that the resurrection is at most a metaphor for inner rebirth and renewal. But taken on its own terms, the belief in resurrection offers us, or anyone, no such latitude. In 1960 the author John Updike wrote a poem, “Seven Stanzas at Easter”—something of a respectful rejoinder to those who can only think of the central event in Christian theology as a metaphor. We take his poem as a mandate for listening to Paul’s most concentrated words about the resurrection. For we, too, in our more concealed and distressing moments are tempted to make the resurrection into something less than it is. “Let us not mock God with metaphor.” A short consideration of 1 Corinthians 15.

General Topic

We Must Love One Another, or Die - Lent 2021

Through the season of Lent, we are taking a patient walk through 1 Corinthians 13. "We must love one another or die" may be more relevant to our day than any we can remember. This series is out to hold our feet to the fire to its centrality and its nature.

Never has something so central to our identity been so threatened by our circumstances.

All Things New

New year (could we hope for something better than the previous year?), new opportunities, new practices--both as individuals and we as a community. What has God made new in Christ which, in saying so, is made to last, made to hold us even if all remains the same as it ever was? In whatever ways we pivot to new things--whether chosen or not--what are those things God has made new upon which all else rests?