Sermon 4 Lent – March 22, 2009

Why would you turn away from the light?
Why would you walk again into the darkness?
There is only one reason.
To walk into the light means to become visible.
It means to reveal yourself to the gathering, in the light of the bonfire.
It means to give up your anonymity and become part of the community
that works and plays together and keeps the fire going.

Sermon Lent 1 – Mar 1, 2009

Often people who joke about a lightning bolt striking them
for doing something bad
really do think that that’s what God does to bad sinners.
When a lightning bolt doesn’t strike them,
they think that either what they’ve done isn’t so bad,
or that there isn’t a God up there to zap them.
But what if that’s not God’s sign at all?

Sermon Ash Wednesday 2009

There are two ways to misunderstand the Gospel.
One way is to say that we have to work and work hard for our salvation.
The other way is to say that since Jesus paid it all, we needn’t lift a finger.
It’s so easy to get caught up in one or the other way of thinking.

Sermon Feb 22, 2009 – The Transfiguration of our Lord

If Jesus of Nazareth were to walk down that red carpet tonight,
if he were to take his place among the famous people;
or if he were to be present at Tuesday’s State of the Union address,
with President Obama and the powerful people of the government;
or if he had been the halftime show at the Super Bowl,
with millions and millions of people watching all over the world,
what would we see?

Bishop Driesen’s Pastoral Letter to the Synod – Proposed Social Statement on Sexuality

Pastoral Letter from Bishop Robert Driesen

The First Week in Lent, February 26, 2009

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

This is a difficult letter to write, because I realize that it touches the lives of so many, all of whom are seeking to be faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ. Despite our differences, however, all of us should be able to agree that questions related to human sexuality, while going to the core of what it means to be a human creature, are transformed, like every aspect of our lives, by our baptism into Christ. The sciences and other human disciplines, while informative, are not determinative, as we wrestle with what God’s intention is for us, having created us as sexual beings.