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The genesis of this morning’s sermon is a conversation with a member of the congregation. For those accustomed to the order of the revised common lectionary, you will notice that our scripture passage is a departure. Normally, on this fourth Sunday of Easter, we hear a Gospel passage about Jesus as Shepherd. But God intervened. A recent conversation with a seven decade member of our congregation went something like this: “Roberto, I keep noticing in the Call to Worship, we say the word YHWH. What is that? No one has ever explained it to me in all of these years. I responded that, “YHWH is an Old Testament name for God?” This perplexed him, and he uttered, “no way.” To which I of course responded, “YHWH.” What we call God is important. God’s name, or names reveal something about God and about us. So this morning, we will take time to consider what YHWH and other names of God mean and what that means for our faith. But first, let us pray:
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Let us pray: On this morning O Lord, take from us all that we cling to so tightly and release us, only to reveal truth we cannot see until we let go. Through the power of your resurrection, move us from death to life. And now, may the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
For part of church history, various traditions have formed around a quaint theme known as “Risus Paschalis,” which, translated from Latin, means “Easter laugh.” Risus Paschalis was predicated on the notion that on the first Easter, God played the biggest joke in history, on none other than the devil. God allowed the devil to kill Jesus, thereby, allowing him to think he had won, only to raise Jesus to life again on the third day. The presumption is that God has a sense of humor and on Easter we can laugh to observe the comicality of it all. Perhaps the person or people who came up with the idea were familiar with Plato’s words: “Even the gods love jokes.”  "The Great Harvest"
Rev. Robert Woodruff May 3, 2015 John 15:1-8 Part of Jesus’ pedagogy involved using common images of his contemporary Mediterranean world as metaphors. In the gospel according to John, Jesus uses seven different “I am” statements in which he identifies himself metaphorically as various types of images. I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the door. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth, and the life. And today, as Jeannie and I read: “I am the true vine, and my father is the vine grower…[and] you are the branches.” And identifying us with the branch metaphor, Jesus gives us a specific task. We are called to bear fruit. According to the New Interpreters Bible Commentary, “‘bearing fruit’ emerges as another way to speak about the works of love that are required as Jesus’ followers,” (Pg. 757).  Take Me to Your Leader
Rev. Robert Woodruff April 26, 2015 John 10: 22-30 Theme: You will come to know the real Jesus when you allow yourself to follow him. Let us pray: God of the universe, when we look upward at the majesty of the sky that you created, filled with stars and whirling planets, we pause to wonder about the meaning of our lives. Teach with your word and Spirit deeper dimensions that fill our lives. Free us, from that which keeps us from seeing your glory. And now, may the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen.  The Easter Present
Rev. Robert Woodruff April 5, 2015 John 20:1-18 We’ve arrived at the empty tomb—the destination of our forty day journey through Lent. By way of reminder, we began following Christ into the barren wilderness where, away from the comforts and stability of society, his spiritual fortitude was tested for the journey. We then followed him through his ministry in the Galilean country-side until his triumphal ride into Jerusalem.  Planted In The Now
Rev. Robert Woodruff John 12:20-33 It is pretty clear that Jesus loved to use seed, plant, and fruit imagery for his pedagogy. Examples abound in the gospels. “I am the vine and you are the branches,” he proclaims. He compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed that in time will grow from the tiniest of seeds into an impressive, full-bodied bush. And we may recall the parable of the sower. The one in which Jesus talks about a person sowing seeds onto different types of soil. He asserts that the impact of the growth of those seeds is directly proportionate to the quality of the soil upon which they fall. Jesus goes on in the passage to interpret that the seeds are the word of God, and the different types of soils are varying descriptions of the hearts of those who hear the word.  “At One Time”
Preached by Rev. Karen Hill at Second Presbyterian Church Ephesians 2.1-10 March 15, 2015 As always Second Pres., it’s a joy to be here and a privilege to worship with you. I bring greetings from First Pres. We are looking forward to sharing our Lenten Mission Project together and then celebrating at the Mission Fiesta on April 26th. At First Pres, we have high hopes for a better showing during this year’s salsa making contest. It could happen. It seems that grace is in short supply these days. In early American history, the colonists shamed people in the town square. They punished sinners by putting them in the stocks or by whipping and flogging them and sometimes, by hanging them in front of their cheering neighbors. Now, we just use the Internet.  A Risky Preposition
Rev. Robert Woodruff March 1, 2015 Mark 8:31-38 “So I have a proposition for you,” says Jesus. Which is interesting, because isn’t it the devil who is usually trying the cut the deal? Jesus continues, “If you want to become my followers, deny yourselves and follow me. You’ve got two choices: you can try to save your life and lose it. You can seek to follow your will and become detached from mine. Or you can lose your life for my sake, and in return, you will become something greater. You can find liberation from your will by taking solace and life in mine. You get to choose.” Marcos 1:9-15Nueva Versión Internacional (NVI)
9 En esos días llegó Jesús desde Nazaret de Galilea y fue bautizado por Juan en el Jordán. 10 En seguida, al subir del agua, Jesús vio que el cielo se abría y que el Espíritu bajaba sobre él como una paloma. 11 También se oyó una voz del cielo que decía: «Tú eres mi Hijo amado; estoy muy complacido contigo.» 12 En seguida el Espíritu lo impulsó a ir al desierto, 13 y allí fue tentado por Satanás durante cuarenta días. Estaba entre las fieras, y los ángeles le servían. 14 Después de que encarcelaron a Juan, Jesús se fue a Galilea a anunciar las buenas nuevas de Dios. 15 «Se ha cumplido el tiempo —decía—. El reino de Dios está cerca. ¡Arrepiéntanse y crean las buenas nuevas!» Mark 9: 2-9
2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ 6He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’ 8Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, but only Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. |
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