Sermons by Sherry Deets (Page 28)

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 6 Pentecost – July 8, 2012 Mark 6:1-13 Today we are going to talk about the Sacrament of Failure. I love it – the Sacrament of Failure– and I am indebted to Mickey Anders for that concept and his homily on the topic. In 1961, the Swedish warship Vasa broke the surface of the water after 333 years on the bottom of the sea. Divers had discovered the ancient wooden vessel just a few years…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 5 Pentecost – July 1, 2012 Mark 5:21-43 Mark has a fondness for enclosing one story inside of another—in this case the story of the woman with a hemorrhage inside the story of Jairus’ daughter. In the paired stories, Jesus works two highly significant miracles. The stories belong together and Mark creates dramatic tension by telling the two stories together. Each finds enhanced interest and power through its juxtaposition with the other. The stories show…

In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Propterea sicut per unum hominem in hunc mundum peccatum intravit et per peccatum mors et ita in omnes homines mors pertransiit in quo omnes peccaverunt. Iustificati igitur ex fide pacem habeamus ad Deum per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum. Omnes enim peccaverunt et egent gloriam Dei.

Sic enim dilexit Deus mundum ut Filium suum unigenitum daret ut omnis qui credit in eum non pereat sed habeat vitam aeternam. In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Et cognoscetis veritatem et veritas liberabit vos.

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 3 Pentecost – June 17, 2012 Mark 4:26-34 What are you excited about today? What gives your life energy and enthusiasm? The unfortunate fact is that a great many people are not excited about much of anything. In fact, many people are living lives that are crippled by cynicism, despair and depression. You would not believe me if I said there is nothing in the world to be depressed about today. There is much that…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 2 Pentecost – June 10, 2012 Mark 3:20-35 In our Gospel lesson from Mark, there is a story within a story–the story of Jesus’ family and their relationship to him, which is then interrupted by a second story – that of Jesus’ conflict with scribes who have come from Jerusalem. Mark creates dramatic tension by telling the two stories together. Each story finds enhanced interest and power through its juxtaposition with the other. In the…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets Trinity Sunday – June 3, 2012 John 3:1-17 It was a night-time meeting, a secret, private meeting away from the crowds that hovered around Jesus during the day. It was a safe place to ask a question, to ponder the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven with one who appeared to know. But when Nicodemus came to Jesus, Nicodemus did not bring a question. Instead, Nicodemus brought his own announcement of who Jesus was. Nicodemus,…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets Pentecost – May 27, 2012 Acts 2:1-21, Ezekiel 37:1-14, John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 Today is Pentecost. The church holiday that celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit and red is the color of the day. Red for celebration, for the symbol of fire. Because Pentecost celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit, we usually offer special prayers that the Holy Spirit will fall afresh on us. But do you think we really mean it? I’m not…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 7 Easter – May 20, 2012 John 17:6-19 Our gospel reading from John today is known as Jesus’ “high priestly prayer”. Let’s recall the context of this prayer of Jesus’. It is Thursday night in this part of John’s account, the evening before Jesus’ crucifixion. He knows he will soon be leaving his disciples to fulfill his mission and wants them to be prepared. And so Jesus has been teaching his disciples across chapters 14-16…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 4 Easter – April 29, 2012 John 10: 11-18 Our gospel text begins, “I am the good shepherd…” What we need to know is that, in Jesus’ day, the term, “good shepherd,” would have been heard as an oxymoron – a contradiction of terms. In Jesus’ day, shepherds were anything but good. They lived as nomads, grazing their sheep on other people’s land. They were notorious for lying, cheating and stealing. They were Jews, all…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 3 Easter – April 22, 2012 Luke 24:36b-48 Last week, we heard about Thomas, his doubts, his questions about the risen Jesus. That was John’s account. This week we hear this story from a slightly different angle, from the writer of Luke. In his story, Jesus also suddenly appears among the disciples, but according to Luke, all of the disciples were fearful and unbelieving. The disciples huddle together behind locked doors, afraid that the authorities…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 2 Easter – April 15, 2012 John 20:19-31 The movie, Simon Birch, tells about a boy, Simon, whose growth has been stunted–but he believes that God has a purpose for his life. Simon has a friend, Joe, who is a doubter–we would probably call Joe a realist. After all, what boy could believe that his buddy–who happened to be a midget–could be destined for great things? In the movie, we see Simon and Joe walking…