Occasional Sermons

Wheat Privilege Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Christian Community Presbyterian Church Bowie, Maryland July 12, 2020 How many of you have not heard this two-part gospel reading before? Raise your hands. Hmm. That’s what I expected, I don’t see any. The first part is usually called the “Parable of the Sower.” It’s one of the more familiar of Jesus’ parables. Matthew, Mark, and Luke have versions of it. It is immediately followed by the disciples asking why Jesus spoke in parables. Jesus responds and then offers an explanation of the parable, the second part of this morning’s reading. The curious thing is that this is the only parable that Jesus ever explained. In Mark’s and Luke’s telling Jesus then offered a purpose for parables:     “No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become kn...

Ascension Is for All Time Luke 24:44-53 Christian Community Presbyterian Church Bowie, Maryland May 24, 2020 This is the seventh Sunday of Easter. It is also Sunday after the Ascension. We don’t think much about Christ’s Ascension, except when we recite the Apostles’ Creed: “he ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of God.” Tradition tells us that the Ascension was forty days after the resurrection, which would have been last Thursday.     What’s so special about the Ascension? After all, the resurrection wins as the most important event in Jesus’ life, Christmas places second, and Pentecost shows at a distant third. We forget that the Jesus event is a package deal. We don’t get to cherry pick Jesus’ life or teachings.     Luke thought that the Ascension was important. He told the story twice: at the end the Gospel and at the beginning of the Book of the Acts, emphasizing different aspects of the story in each telling. The Ascension concludes...