Sermons

Sermon, Third Sunday in Lent
Holy Covenant UMC
March 7, 2010
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd
Luke 13:1-9

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Repent or Perish. Repent or perish.
Are there more shocking words in our Christian vocabulary?

This phrase brings to mind street preachers on the corner, wearing a hand-written sandwich board proclaiming “Jesus died for us”, handing out tracts, and shouting into a bullhorn: Repent or Perish! Damning us all to hell. These words conjure up the tagline of a book series, like Left Behind, scaring people into believing in Jesus, with the threat of chaos and danger if we don’t.

We hear these words—repent or perish–and we want to turn and run in the other direction. We get the same urge we had as a child, when we knew we were in trouble, and now caught, and we heard our parents voice; or when that annoying neighbor is calling after us, and we know if we talk to her we won’t be free for an hour; we hear these words, this voice, and our instinct is to run in the other direction.

Perhaps it brings to mind images of church communities you were part of in the past, or negative images from TV or friends or family who use this language to send you to hell and proclaim a negative, hate-filled message about Christianity. Repent or perish also gets translated as: Change or Die-we see that on t-shirts. Change or die sounds more like the title of an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie than a motivating, life-changing command from Jesus.

What if that had been our Lenten theme? Instead of Search Me, Know Me: Change or Die! Would you be here this morning? Or would you have gone running in the other direction? You probably would have found a church where the words weren’t so shocking. (more…)

Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent
Holy Covenant UMC, February 28, 2010
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd
Luke 13:31-35

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Humans love a good animal story. From the Ugly Duckling to the Three Bears, White Fang and Black Beauty, to Fipper and Mister Ed and Lassie, we can’t get enough. We read and watch and witness these stories with wonder and delight. We circulate them on the internet, sending mass e-mails to our friends at work with images of cute kittens playing with yarn and we even watch the Animal Planet. Perhaps humans are so drawn to these stories and images because something about the identity of animals gives us a glimpse into who we are and who we are not. We examine a species that seems so different from us, and thus learn about ourselves.

One of the most interesting stories about animals that recently circulated the internet is about a Poobah rabbit who started to behave like a dog. Specifically, he behaves like his fellow-pet, a cocker spaniel named Scout. The rabbit, named Poobah, and Scout, belong to a 12 year-old boy in Cornwall England. The rabbit had been in the family for several years and then they decided to adopt a dog. The rabbit and dog immediately bonded, and then the boy noticed that something strange began to happen:

Poobah refused to eat his dry rabbit food, and now only eats Scout’s wet dog food. Poobah rejects his rabbit treats, and instead stands on his hind legs and barks and begs for dog biscuits. He’s even taken to joining in on Scout’s games of fetch, retrieving the sticks and balls his owner throws in the yard. They both cuddle in the dog bed, and Poobah has asserted his alpha authority…Scout is submissive, as if Poobah is the leader of the pack. The rabbit has an identity crisis. The rabbit doesn’t know who he is and who he is not. (more…)

1st Sunday in Lent
Holy Covenant UMC, February 21, 2010
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd
Luke 4:1-13

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Today, the first Sunday of Lent, we step into the wilderness with Jesus, led by the Spirit. We feel the hot sand burning our toes, the unending light blinding our eyes, and we long for a cool, quenching drink.

This is a familiar feeling. A feeling that we’re not eager to summon. For we know what it’s like to be in the wilderness all too well. Though the wildernesses of our lives look different than the desert of Jesus….The wildernesses of our lives look less like sand and more like an empty seat around a holiday table, where your grandfather sat until Alzheimer’s took him away; a lonely Sunday morning at the park after being kicked out of a faith community you loved; an empty pillow next to your head where your lover used to sleep; the bottom of a bottle you swore you wouldn’t drink today. Wilderness appears in our lives in many forms. You know what your wilderness looks, smells, feels, sounds, and tastes like.

We know that life’s wildernesses are inevitable. Everybody in this room has journeyed through one; perhaps you’re in the middle of the wilderness now, feeling like you are crawling through sand; and the hard truth is, all of us will find ourselves in the desert in the future. Jesus, of all people, couldn’t escape the wilderness, and neither can we. We find ourselves with parched throats in the oppressive sun because of choices we’ve made, or choices that other people have made, or because of oppressive and unfair systems. Because of life’s brokenness. (more…)

“Deliver us from Evil”
Holy Covenant UMC, Sunday February 14, 2010
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd

Romans 8:18-27, 38-39

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Our culture thrives on words; we’re surrounded by words all the time: from clever tweets of 140 characters to long blog posts written by anybody with a computer and internet connection; Phones that deliver e-mails 24/7, and the ability to talk on the phone anywhere, anytime…from the train to our car; texting in the movie theater (or church!). And now, it’s not enough to watch the news, and hear the stories, but simultaneously, underneath, we read a ticker of other news stories that are happening.

But no matter how many words we surround ourselves with, put out to the world through hundreds of kinds of media,
There are times in our lives when words escape us:
When we are faced with the pain of another and don’t know what to say: a friend has lost her mother unexpectedly; a couple that we love is splitting apart and no words we seem to muster up can cut through the sharp daggers they’re throwing at one another; One sister has lost her baby to a miscarriage and another is struggling with infertility.

When there are disasters in the world that take our breath, and so our words, away: the earthquake in Haiti; the constant bombings and death happening in Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and our fears that we are becoming numb to the violence; we don’t know what to say to ourselves, much less our children in the wake of so much pain.

And there are times when we desperately want words for ourselves, words that stubbornly refuse, no matter how hard we try, to rise to the tips of our tongues. We flub apologies when we’ve hurt someone deeply; we want to say the right thing when we hear a difficult diagnosis.
Words escape us. (more…)

Forgive us our Trespasses, as we Forgive Those who Trespass Against Us
Holy Covenant UMC, Sunday February 7, 2010
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd
Matthew 18:21-35

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There are many phrases commonly attributed to the Bible, that in fact have very different origins. Nonetheless, we often mistakenly hear them as gospel truth (even though they are nowhere to be found in the gospel). For example:

God helps those who help themselves (Benjamin Franklin)
God never gives you more than you can handle.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
No rest for the weary.
Even: Do Unto Others as you would have them do unto you. Sure, we have variations, but this phrase is not biblical.
There are many phrases we misattribute to the Bible that actually come from Shakespeare:
For example: Neither a borrower nor a lender be

And, finally, “forgive and forget”. Friends, this phrase is found nowhere in the Bible and has been taught too often in churches as gospel truth. (more…)

Daily Bread
By Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd
Holy Covenant UMC, January 31, 2010

Luke 19:1-10

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Give us this day our daily bread.

When we pray this, what are we praying for? To have enough to eat today? Are we praying to have our material needs met ? Are we praying to be fed spiritually—filled up with comfort and hope and peace? Are we praying about feeding others, who are hungry? Feeding them with bread and with love and with justice?

What is daily bread?

We know it has to do with the daily: something we ask for each and every day. We’re not asking about tomorrow, or next year, or after we die: we ask to be supplied daily.

It’s easy for us to live in the future…asking for a secure retirement, hoping that in 10 years our family life will look like we want it to, living for our summer vacation instead of focusing on the work at hand (trust, me, this winter, I’m continually fantasizing about the sun): but this phrase is calling us right back to the moment: give us bread today. (more…)

Kingdom Come
Holy Covenant UMC, January 24, 2010
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd
Matthew 22:1-14

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Don’t you love just love to receive an invitation?

I’m always delighted, when I check the mail, and find amidst the bills and junk an envelope with a handwritten address on beautiful paper. I toss everything else aside and dive in—perhaps it’s an invite to a birthday party, a baby shower, a wedding invitation—a save the date from a friend you haven’t seen since college. You know that feeling, when there’s a fun event to anticipate.

When you log into facebook and a notification pops up…you hope it’s something really good, not just another invite to join Farmville…and you have an invitation. Not an invitation to Holy Covenant’s congregational summit (which I’m sure fills you all with immense joy), but an invitation to a fabulous night out of dinner and theater. Or your e-mail reveals an e-vite with margaritas lining the top…you click to go to the whole invitation, knowing this is going to be one good party. (more…)

Hallowed Be God’s Name
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Holy Covenant UMC
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd

Exodus 3:13-15

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We gather this morning with heavy hearts for the people of Haiti. As we watch the coverage, in horror, things seem to get worse: more names added to the tally of the dead, more survivors with wounds that cannot be healed, chaos and desperation as people are in need of food and water that does not exist. We grieve with our brothers and sisters in Haiti, and for those here and across the world who are grieving for friends and family.

The tragedy is confounding. There aren’t answers for why or how; no pat solutions or pretty words to make things better. We can’t make sense out of what is happening. I’m not here this morning to give you answers…it’s not why we gather. We ARE gathered to worship God with one another…the God of love and life and hope and justice…even in the midst of our doubts and questions and anger, we worship. (more…)

“Waters of Grace: Celebrating Baptism”
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd
Holy Covenant UMC, January 10, 2010
Luke 3:15-22

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The heavens are breaking open. Breaking wide open.
Can you hear the voice of God?

Imagine with me that we are part of the crowd, gathered around the Jordan River, witnessing the baptism of Jesus. Witnessing the heavens opening…
We’re expectant…filled with great expectations of what might be happening. We’ve been following John the Baptist, this wild and woolly prophet who promises us better days ahead. Who assures us that God is with us and we will be saved.
We’re tired of the government…the government who uses violence and militarism against its own people; abuses us with taxes; discriminates based on religious belief.
We are in desperate need of salvation….not some kind of salvation that only comes to us when we die, but salvation in the here and the now…some hope that we can be saved from tyranny and oppression and find a new way of life. (more…)

Guest Preacher: Rebecca Anderson

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