In the words of Kierkegaard, “…admirers make the same demands that are made in the theater: to sit safe and calm. Admires are only too willing to serve Christ as long as proper caution is exercised, lest one personally come into contact with danger. They refuse to accept that Christ’s life is a demand.” They refuse to accept that Christ’s life is a demand…

…I can’t help but wonder here, if Jesus is not only feeling sorrow and grief for his friends, but also feeling sorrow and dread for his own future, for the pain and sorrow that awaits him. He sees the tomb, identical to the one he will be in in just a short time. He sees his friends weeping for Lazarus, as they will soon be weeping for him. He smells the stench of death and grief all around him, and he is so full of emotion for his loved ones and so full of fear for himself…

This is the story of man whose disability wasn’t his blindness— his disability was other people’s blindness— their inability to see his humanity…

There’s freedom in being satisfied with having enough. There’s freedom in no longer being tied to worldly power or possessions. Photine is so moved by her conversation with Jesus that she forgets her thirst altogether, she leaves her water jar to go spread the news about Jesus and the type of world he’s trying to bring—a just world for all, an earth as it is in heaven…

That is what Jesus was doing—he was burning it all down, and people were not ready…

God gave the man two orders: till and keep this garden, and don’t eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. So the damage of eating of the fruit has been done; so would it be so much to ask to get back to these basics of caring for and honoring this earth?

“God is not interested in our theology but only in our silence.” This, to me, is not saying that God wants us to sit down and shut up— it’s saying that we need to create that intentional space to see the light in the darkness, when we quiet the world around us for a time and really think about what our faith calls us to do, that’s when we can feel the Holy Spirit…

Maybe just take a minute away from the crush of the modern world as we talked about last week, and stop and think about the negative feelings you’ve felt recently, why you’ve felt them and what you can do to turn them into something positive and productive. And then be truthful with yourself and with your God…

…we need to spread our scandalous spicy message of equality and hope through intention, through actions— through our radical hospitality and by welcoming all into this sacred space, as we did once again last night. We need to shine our light upon all people—so that the disheartened and oppressed may be uplifted by our actions and our good works…

A people who mourn together are also a people who are comforted together. A people who humble themselves around one another are a people who respect and love one another. A people who work as peacemakers, who work for shalom, are people who want that shalom, who want that wholeness for all people…

I’m reminded of the science fiction author, Ursual K. Le Guin’s quote from her 2018 National Book Award speech—“Capitalism’s power seems inescapable—but then, so did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.”

What qualities do we look for in a leader? What convinces us that someone is worthy of praise, that someone is worthy of our time and commitment? King Jr. himself is quoted as saying, “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”

Jesus makes it clear that though he is our savior, fully divine, that he is also fully human, and therefore one of us—that he is not untouchable on some other planet; that this human being, who received royal gifts as a baby, came so that each and every one of us would eventually be loved and respected and safe. Jesus, I believe, would weep at the idea that people shouldn’t think for themselves, that people should accept the world as is. And Jesus would especially weep at the idea that he is too far above us for us to truly feel his presence…

What a giant, beautiful contradiction Christmas is— an alleged miraculous virgin birth, angels relaying messages in other-worldly harmonies, a heavenly star leading the way—juxtaposed with a birth that couldn’t be more humble…a baby born in dangerous conditions; a baby who is the ultimate contradiction—human and divine…

Christmas Pageant 2022!

I think it sometimes takes a fool to have so much conviction in goodness. I think it takes some foolishness to believe so wholeheartedly that this world can actually be good…

So this slogan—no justice, no peace—I wonder if it would be easier for some of us to think of it, not as some kind of threat, but more as a statement of fact— the fact that peace cannot exist without justice. Peace cannot exist without full equality for all people…

…we need to make time in our lives to take a deep breath, to take a break, to slow down, and to get to that relaxed-but-alert feeling. And we can’t get to that point if we don’t make time in our days to stop and just be. If we don’t make time to reconnect with the world and our surroundings, we’ll find ourselves sleepwalking through life…

Two Thanksgiving sermons from our combined Thanksgiving Sunday service with First Universalist Society of Hartland; Rev. Paul Sawyer preaches on the poem “And the Table Will Be Wide” by Jan Richardson; Rev. Amy Davin preaches on Deuteronomy 26:1-11

We have a tendency to get totally overwhelmed with all the myriad problems happening right now, and it’s nearly impossible to see the big picture, nearly impossible to imagine that a world where people actually get along is, indeed, possible…