Sermons from September 2015

18 Pentecost, Proper 21 – September 27, 2015 Mark 9:38-50 “We saw someone….” That’s how a lot of judgment starts, doesn’t it? “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” “We saw someone….” That’s how a lot of judgment starts, doesn’t it? “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” The words…

16 Pentecost, Proper 19 – September 13, 2015 Mark 8:27-38 Good-byes never get easy, especially when they seem premature. So we can really appreciate Peter’s predicament that we encounter in this week’s gospel story. Jesus has turned his face toward Jerusalem and, in doing so, he begins to tell the disciples what awaits him there. Peter cannot abide Jesus’ talk of his coming death. Taking Jesus aside, he argues with him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen…

Mark 7:24-37 15 Pentecost, Proper 18 – September 6, 2015 A tired and exhausted Jesus seeks solitude. A woman hears about him and asks that he might cast a demon out of her daughter. The details are sparse. Whose house? How did the woman hear about him? Mark seems uninterested in these questions. Some details, though, are intentionally emphasized.  He writes: “Now, the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by descent”. And this introduces a twist to the story, making…