Occasional Sermons

I Am a Sheep of the Lord John 10:22-30 Christian Community Presbyterian Church, Bowie, Maryland May 8, 2022   W e have arrived at the fourth Sunday of the Season of Easter. We go beyond the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus and turn to some of his teachings that help us think about being his people in the world today. Today is traditionally “Good Shepherd Sunday,” when we reflect on his words about his role as the shepherd of God’s people, a role of comfort, support, guidance, protection.     In today’s reading Jesus is at Solomon’s porch during the Festival of Dedication which celebrated the liberation of Jerusalem from the Seleucid Empire, a political entity that evolved following the death of Alexander the Great and the breakup of his empire. The Seleucid king, Antiochus Epiphanes, had defiled the Temple nearly two centuries before Jesus came on the scene by building an altar to his own gods within the Temple’s main sanctuary. Two years later Judas Maccabeu...

The Shadow of Easter Acts 5:12-32 Colesville Presbyterian Church, Silver Spring, Maryland April 24, 2022 The second Sunday of Easter is celebrated by many as “Holy Humor Sunday.” It has its roots in 15th-century Bavaria where Christians celebrated Risus Paschalis (“Easter Laugh”). Priests would include jokes in their sermons to make their congregations laugh. This was a way of celebrating the resurrection of Christ, which is understood as God’s ultimate prank on the forces of death and evil. The resurrection is God getting the last laugh, so this is a day to laugh and celebrate the sovereignty of God. So to celebrate God’s guffaw, I offer the following:      Handling admissions to heaven is boring for Peter. Sometimes, to break up the monotony, he varies the question. On one occasion, he was asking hopeful entrants, “What is Easter?” One person said, “Oh, that’s the day that some fellow discovered America, isn’t it?” “No, you’re wrong,” said Peter, “you’ll have to go...