Sermons

Sunday, April 28, 2013
Holy Covenant UMC
Michael Vollmer, preaching

John 13:31-35

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

As many of you already know, or may not know, the United Methodist Church has a large focus on missions. Many churches send their youth or a group of people out to somewhere in the world that needs help. And not just in response to major world catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina or the recent tragedies we witnessed last week. The Church does respond in these moments, but also in other moments of need. Moments where there is a need for support and a helping hand as the struggles of everyday life weigh heavily upon so many people around this world.

My home church in Lockport, Illinois that I joined not long after my wife and I married sends a group of youth and a few adults to Red Bird Mission in Kentucky every other year. When my wife was growing up she went several times and those who go do things like help repair roofs, replace windows on homes for people in need, and even dig ditches for various projects and needs. They have helped to fix homes in places where there may be no one else to help. A seminary friend and colleague has taken a group from the church he pastors in southern Illinois to Liberia and while there they have helped to build homes and even a school for the local children to have access to education.

Holy Covenant just this last November sent several people to Miami for a mission trip. And the United Methodists are not alone in these efforts. Almost every denomination of Christianity does this kind of work and sends people out to help. I never had those opportunities in the churches I belonged to growing up, but I continue to be impressed at the willingness of others to go out and help people they have never met before, all in the name of God and love.

In our Gospel reading today Jesus is again with his disciples and this time he gives them a new commandment. He tells them to love each other. Sounds simple enough right? I mean hadn’t Jesus told them awhile back before his death to “love your neighbor as yourself”. These people have been together for a while now and have formed a bond. So this should be simple right? The disciples got this one Jesus. No problem, they are on top of it.

But Jesus did not stop right there. His commandment was not just to love each other, but he continued on to say, “Just as I have loved you, so you must love each other.” Whoa, hang on there for a second. That is a much taller order. I mean think about it. Jesus had spent time with his disciples trying to tell them of the love of God and of the sacrifice he was soon to make for them. He had washed their feet and placed himself as a servant to them. Jesus died on the cross for their sins, for all our sins. All of these things he did out of love. And now He wants them to love each other in the same way? (more…)

Sunday, April 21, 2013
Holy Covenant UMC
Rev. Matthew Johnson, preaching

Acts 9:36-43

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

That was a week. By the pure volume of news about things blowing up, flooding, people dying, and now earthquakes, this past week will be one that is not easily forgotten. Weeks like that make me happy that I am not a part of the constant, always-on news cycle anymore. They remind me why I got rid of cable.

Yet, even while getting all my news from two-minute YouTube clips and the Chicago Tribune’s tweets, I got enough exposure to know this was going to be a week when I was going to have to prepare something else for my Sunday sermon. And, for as much as I may have like to, I couldn’t just sigh. I had to say something different.

It didn’t start that way though. On Monday night, I wasn’t planning on changing my direction at all. Because we are still in the Easter season … the season of new life.

And I could still talk about the power of resurrection that was seen in those people ripping away at the mess of scaffolding left by the two bombs that went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. I could talk about the goodness that was seen in all the first responders and ordinary people that ran toward the broken windows and bodies.

On Monday night, I wasn’t planning on changing direction out of principle. Because, in too many places in the world, Monday’s events alone wouldn’t have been enough to require a change.

By Monday night, more people had been murdered by guns in Chicago than had died in Boston in the same 24 hour period.

By Monday night, more had been murdered in bombings in Iraq and Syria in 24 hours than were killed by guns in Chicago all of last year. And, if I’m honest, I wouldn’t have changed direction because of either of those Mondays.

Wednesday came, and I got caught up in the industrial explosion in Texas, but wasn’t going to change direction for that. I didn’t figure you’d want to hear me talk for 20 minutes about the need for us to hold the owners of that fertilizer plant accountable in the same way we would those who set off the bombs in Boston.

And then there was the storm that began that night and kept on going until well into Thursday. And then there were the floods that followed.

And I pondered changing the text to the story of great flood in Genesis, to point to the faithfulness of Noah and family as they endured the rain and the months of wondering. I figured that would be how long we’d have to wait before anyone was identified in the Boston bombings. And I would have tasked us with remembering the good news that a rainbow is coming. Because, let’s face it, at Holy Covenant we love rainbows. (more…)

Sunday, April 7, 2012
Holy Covenant UMC
Britt Cox, preaching

John 20:19-31

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

You know what the Sunday after Easter is called? Besides Pastor Matt’s day off and Intern Britt is in the hot seat? The Sunday following Easter is also known as Low Sunday, who knows maybe because we are all feeling the sugar low from the massive amount of neon colored peeps we consumed last week; or because of Easter’s record attendance across churches that the Sunday after feels a bit different. But maybe also because of where we left off in the resurrection story last week.

Last week the energy of Easter Sunday had begun to spread from the women who saw Jesus outside of the tomb to now the disciples who he has just appeared to behind the locked doors while they are in hiding. It wasn’t necessarily this big collective experience that we all shared last week, but a one by one spreading of the resurrection; and it seems like the disciples had to see it face to face even after hearing from the women. There are some who just really needed to see to believe.

One of these being Thomas. Poor Thomas. While he’s been given the nickname Doubter, to me it just seems that his situation is one of just not being in the right place at the right time. For as his friends are telling him that while he was gone getting groceries, or taking a walk around the block, that they have seen Jesus. He can’t seem to imagine Jesus the they are describing for what he can’t get out of his mind is his dear friend Jesus, pierced in his side, stakes driven through his hands, flesh torn open.

I can imagine that this haunting memory was the only thing he was thinking about, experiencing sleepless nights were with waking terror, and the debilitating fear that caused them to retreat behind closed doors. So while the disciples are singing praises of seeing Jesus with their own eyes, for Thomas the only song he hears is the ballad of death being replayed on the phonograph in his mind.

While we call him Doubting Thomas, for me it’s not his very human doubt that I feel connected to, it is the deep pain that is truly present in his voice. All Thomas wants is some answers to very big questions that Jesus’ death and apparent resurrection have brought… to know that the rumors are true… to know that his own raw pain has not been looked over, but is beginning to heal.

And this is all WE really want isn’t it? To know that hope is possible, tangible, living, rather than just rumor or lip service? While we celebrated Easter last week, there are still crosses on our street corners, threatening experiences that tempt us to stay behind locked doors, those that are crucified and made as examples to what can happen when the powers that be are agitated. So while we celebrated the risen Christ last Sunday, we as humanity continue to wake up the reality of pain. We find ourselves a bit miffed, if hope has risen where has it gone? (more…)

Sunday, March 31, 2013
Holy Covenant UMC
Rev. Matthew Johnson, preaching

John 20:1-18

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I am no good at gardening. If you want a plant to die, entrust it to me. Those “20 of the Easiest Houseplants” things you find on the internet read like an indictment hearing at which I am being charged with herbicide. They’ve all been victims to my lack of skill.

If there was an app for gardening … like, I don’t know, “Cultivating Ninja” or “Angry Spades” … I might be pretty good at that. Sadly though, my Android thumbs offer little to the life that awaits inside seeds and bulbs. It is frustrating to me, because it should be pretty easy. I mean, plants just grow in the wild all over the place ON THEIR OWN.

But something happens when one of those plants ends up in my window sill or on fire escape. I’m pretty sure that is because I just don’t give the plants the time, energy and, yes — even love — that they need.

Because I am the angel of death to every orchid and bean sprout that comes my way, I admire people who can garden. My grandfather is one of those people. Back when I was a kid, he practically lived in his garden. I remember pulling up in my grandparents driveway, and he would emerge from the sunflowers and sweet corn as if he were one of the characters in A Field of Dreams. Behind those tall plants were beans, peppers, tomatoes and all kinds of other things I would never eat back then.

Behind the house, he also kept an ornamental garden. Inside the house, there were wire shelves full of plants. Some of those were old. He was into “heirloom plants” long before I knew what those words meant. To this day, he has — on a coffee table — one that I got in a Happy Meal in 1980. And in the basement, there were tables covered with seeds and sprouts. He’d be down there, in that old farmhouse basement with the dirt floor, doing the delicate work of caring for those fragile little starts at all times of day and night. He’s the first person I ever met that was truly passionate about something. He may be my grandfather, but to most who know him, he’s a gardener.

When describing the place where Jesus was buried, the author of John makes it a point to tell us that Jesus’ tomb was in a garden. This feels like a bit of a stretch. Even if you’re not a terminator of flowers, it isn’t easy to see a graveyard as a garden.

And that’s not just because of all the sun-faded plastic flowers that fill the headstone vases in graveyards today. Our memories are caught up in how things were when we left them there. It is hard to live in the beauty that is created by those tending to the earth. That beauty is obscured by the past … by what is now no more.

And like Mary, we weep. Now, Mary weeps because she believes she’s the victim of a crime. She had every reason to believe grave robbers had been there and stolen Jesus’ body. The stone moved; the entrance open. (They were meticulous thieves, though, as some of the linens had been rolled up). Mary weeps because the disciples decide to take off and go home after doing very little to solve the mystery. And Mary weeps because she he has been here before … when her brother Lazarus died. Jesus was MIA then, too. (more…)

Sunday, March 17, 2013
Holy Covenant UMC
Rev. Polly Toner, preaching

Mark 12:1-12

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Some of you know by now that I like to ski. One of the challenges of moving to the Midwest, second to leaving the ocean, well, and that west coast climate, was leaving easy access to some great mountains. Have any of you skied in Lake Tahoe? It is a beautiful place, any time of year, really. I can recommend the water-skiing, there, too.

So, as I sat down to watch my first episode of Undercover Boss last week, I was excited to discover that it was taking place at Squaw Valley- a great resort, once host to the Olympics and known for offering extreme skiing, wild jumps and rails and all that fancy stuff. The Squaw resort now also encompasses Alpine Meadows, which is next door, a more manageable mountain for young families and beginners. Our family always tended to avoid those…The current CEO of the entire resort, was on Undercover Boss last week.

When he became CEO about 2.5 years ago, Andy Werth was responsible not just for managing a one hundred million dollar mountain, but for combining these two very different ski resorts that had always had their own identities, into one large resort. In taking on Squaw Valley and Alpine, CEO Andy Werth had admittedly become preoccupied with the desk-work side of the operations, and had neglected the work taking place on the actual ski hill. So, with the help of Olympian skier Johnny Moseley, he went undercover and spent some time with quite a few of his employees. Alongside the staff he was busy teaching kids to snowboard, working with the ski patrol, doing repairs to the mountain at night, and working with lift mechanics. He was more help with some tasks than others! If you have ever watched Undercover Boss, you can probably imagine how the show plays out- and we will return to this in a few moments. After we consider our reading from Mark a bit more.

Throughout this Lent, Pastor Matt and Britt and Michael have been helping us to explore who Jesus really is. Today’s passage is one more lens to see and know Christ. I’m not sure if “Undercover Jesus” is quite appropriate, but we are continuing to discern the meaning of this Jesus and certainly, it is not all clear upon first glance.

So, today’s reading is traditionally known as the parable of the wicked tenants. Clearly, it is wrong that the tenants refuse to give the landowner his rightful share of the produce from HIS vineyard. And, even more clearly, it is really wrong that they beat and even kill the various servants who are sent to retrieve the landlord’s profits. The behavior of the tenants is in fact very wicked.

At the same time, I cannot help but consider the behavior of the owner himself. I think of corporate investors who provide the capital for business and labor that they often never witness themselves, nor need to concern themselves with- so long as they receive their regular income from their investment. So, my mind wandered a bit about the potential bitterness these tenants might have held toward this owner during a time of a merger and much transition.

And, also, how many servants does one send to their demise, really, before finally just going to the vineyard oneself to assess the situation and demand justice in person? This vineyard owner made me think of the negative connotations of an absentee landlord, or a distant CEO. This week there has been so much excitement about a new Pope who lives and serves right among the people; we seem to be in an age that values participant leadership over hierarchical absenteeism. Come on, landlord, go see what is really going on in YOUR vineyard, right? (more…)

Sunday, March 10, 2013
Holy Covenant UMC
Rev. Matthew Johnson, preaching

Luke 6:20-31

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Many of you know that I have spent great deal of time doing ministry in Lithuania. Apart from the birth of my daughter, my time in that Eastern European nation may be the most important and formational “God” experience I’ve ever had. In two week doses over a period of three years, I was given a chance to submit my privilege so that others could experience mercy and the beginnings of justice.

Rarely did I experience a moment that failed to humble me: the stories about past struggles; the stigmas of class and race that stuck with them.

Many of the people could tell stories about how their families have been abused by the powerful going back 10 generations. They were Žemaitijans … the country folk … the peasants … literally the “lowlanders.”

Their farms were the marching grounds for warring nations. They were the ones who took the brunt of the blows dealt by Napoleon and the Kaizer. They were the ones the Czar kidnapped and put into his army. They were the ones sent to Hitler’s death camps. They were the ones sent to Siberia by Stalin.

The Žemaitijans … the people from the flat ground … were those who Western Europe and Russia had been walking upon for nearly 400 years. For just as long, they’d been expected to appeal to the powers on high for the humblest of things … things like the basics of food and water, things like a word from their loved ones who were being “reprogrammed” and were imprisoned. Things like traveling to visit family, or speaking their native language.

In Lithuania, the Žemaitijans understood what it meant to be on the bottom of a culture.

Because of this, I was astonished that the Žemaitijans had never thought of Jesus as being a liberator … as someone who was at work to set them free from this vicious cycle of poverty and struggle. Actually, to them, Jesus was the voice of the powerful … the one who demanded their obedience to the state.

So the first time I preached there, I used the text we just heard from Luke’s gospel … Jesus’ sermon that points out blessings of happiness and terrible woes. It is a message full of world-turning, scale-tipping transformation. And they had heard it before. You’ve probably heard it in some form before, too.

You’ve maybe heard it as they had, from Matthew’s gospel in what has become known as “The Sermon on the Mount.” But Luke has this sermon in a different setting.

In the verse before our lesson for today, Luke says Jesus went down to the Lowlands. Jesus went down to be with the people.

It may seem elementary to us, but when those words were said in Lithuania, they understood Jesus in a whole new way. I wish you could have seen their eyes light up when the heard this. They heard their name in the midst of all this. Luke’s Jesus makes it clear: the liberation that God is bringing through him will be one that is rooted where the ordinary people are. In the lowlands. In the Žemaitija. (more…)

Sunday, March 3, 2013
Holy Covenant UMC
Michael Vollmer, preaching

John 1:1-5, 9-14

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“In the beginning”. Those might be some of the most iconic words of humanity’s existence. I’d say it ranks right up there with “We have nothing to fear but fear itself”, “You can lead a horse to water”, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, and a personal favorite “I’ll be back”, although there is some discrepancy about if Jesus really said that last one and it is usually attributed to the Terminator.

The Scripture reading we heard tells us how the Word became flesh, became human like us. That is a truly awesome idea. This all-powerful cosmic being through whom everything was created became a part of creation itself. For those of you who have seen Disney’s animated cartoon Aladdin, this kind of reminds me of the scene when the Genie is explaining his situation to Aladdin and says “PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS! Itty-bitty living space.”

How mind blowing is that? This colossal being of power transcends all of that to become like you or me. For a brief moment in time humanity got to see, if we did not recognize it or understand, this peek into the perfection of this Cosmic Christ, this Word, this God…

Our Scripture reading also tells us that “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” I’d like you to think about that for a minute, this idea that Christ, or the Word, has always existed. Think about that: {PAUSE} ALWAYS existed.

I have to admit that this was a concept that I have struggled with in my life. I mean think about it. What in our human understanding can compare to this idea? Is there anything that we know or understand to have ALWAYS existed, and for that matter will continue to exist FOREVER? (more…)

Sunday, February 24, 2012
Holy Covenant UMC
Britt Cox, preaching

Luke 17:20-25

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

A few years ago around this time of year my family went together to see an Easter passion play. Have you ever seen one of these? They are huge productions that are often musicals that reenact the life, death and resurrection of Jesus; if put on the big screen many would have a good chance against Les Miserables or Zero Dark Thirty in tonight’s Academy Awards. They’ve got huge sets that have been built outdoors usually in the middle of nowhere, special effects like smoke machines, choreographedm fight scenes, and lasers. Yes. Lasers. Jesus and lasers.

I was fixated by this entire production, I’m kind of a sucker for the dramatic. No Sunday school teacher had taught the story of Jesus in that way to me before and as the rock band crescendo-ed during the final number I was up on my feet at the end of the show giving a resounding standing ovation. While I consider myself pretty traditional when it comes to my own personal connection to worship, and this was very nontraditional, as a stage production I was sold!

At the end of the show I get in this massive line for the three port-a-potties. I know, I guess all the money for decent restroom facilities were absorbed by the need for lasers; so I’m in line and I look over and look next to the backstage door and lo and behold there was Jesus, just hanging out, I have to admit I was a little star struck, I had never seen Jesus up close and personal before. The more I kind of sat there letting it soak in that yes I was looking right at Jesus, in the flesh, in the line for the bathroom, the more I realized that he looked a lot different than I had imagined he might be. While I clearly knew this wasn’t really the real Jesus, I had been drawn in enough to be a bit jarred by seeing Jesus taking a break between shows with his fake beard in one hand, a cigarette in another and his robe open just enough on top that I could see his Radiohead band shirt that he was wearing underneath. He gave me a little wave and said “Hey kid, thanks for coming to see the show.” So stunned all I could do was turn back to my place line with this blank stare on my face. “Who did this guy think he was?” “Would Jesus have been a Radiohead fan?” “I’m sure his name was Frank or something, but could Jesus have been like Frank?” (more…)

Sunday, February 17, 2013
Holy Covenant UMC
Rev. Matthew Johnson, preaching

Luke 4:1-13

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Well, welcome to Lent. If you couldn’t tell by all the references to 40-day journeys in the liturgy and the purple fabric on the table, you probably realized it was Lent by walking around town on Wednesday and seeing a bunch of people with dirty foreheads. It is somewhat ironic that we begin our lenten fast by putting dirt on our face the same day we’re told by Jesus to keep our faces clean when we fast and pray.

Not to say I don’t appreciate the mark of the cross on people’s heads. It makes my job a lot easier. Because I know who to target with my Sunday worship invites. I see a clean head, I swoop in like a ninja. I’m full of grace and hospitality, and I say something like, “You look like you could use a friend about now. I bet you’re feeling alone among all us crazy cross-heads. You should come by my church. I’ll save some dirt for you. Oh, and I can tell you more about Jesus.”

Ok, so that never happens. I’m not that kind of pastor.

But when people discover I am clergy, I do end up talking about Jesus. A lot. Because I am that kind of pastor … which usually gets me into trouble, because I either end up talking about stuff that riles up folk who understand Jesus in a much more narrow way than I do, OR I end up doing something really dumb. Like the time I looked quizzically at a guy at a bus stop in Aurora who asked me “So who is Jesus, anyway?”

And I was like, “Really? Are you serious? He’s only one of the best known names in the world. The church has done a lot of good things and even more of the terrible variety to make sure of that.”

And then he gave me the look that I gave him. I know, not the finest evangelism moment in history. I remember thinking “Billy Graham is not impressed.”

He was serious!

And at that moment, I wished I were part of one of those narrow way denominations, and I had a tract in my pocket. Because it was a really great question. And it wasn’t one I thought I could answer in the two minutes we had. He and I ended up taking the conversation to Twitter, and it was very meaningful. (more…)

Sunday, February 10, 2013
Holy Covenant UMC
Rev. Matthew Johnson, preaching

Luke 9:28-43

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

It is probably no accident that the people with the most popularity in our culture are entertainers. They provide us with escapism. They give us a release valve. In a world where so much is up in the air, they are a constant. We know what they’ll do. We know all their moves. We know when the encore is coming. The rhythm of their songs and steps is as calming to us as a mother’s heartbeat is to the child in her womb. Their presence in the theatres and arenas gives us the illusion of an intimacy that makes us squirm with delight. Just watch the footage from that Beatles performance on Ed Sullivan and you’ll see this. Or check out the view counter on Korean pop star “Psy”s YouTube page. Or have a look at how many followers Bieber and Gaga have on Twitter. They aren’t people to us, just performers: numbers on a jersey, characters in a script. Personas. They exist only in the two-dimensional world of the screen, or they are leashed to a guitar cable, or caged behind boards and glass.

And because of this, we make them more popular than educators and physicians … being larger that life, they are bigger than presidents and generals. And yes, in some ways, they are bigger than Jesus. I’d imagine that this image of the entertainer may have something to do with the pushback I often hear from people when we bring the work of personas like Bono and Bob and the Beatles into worship.

This is supposed to be a different space, we say. This is supposed to be the place where people are free to be people and deal with all the complexities that come with personhood. Worship isn’t an escape from reality. It is the space where we deal in realities … both the distorted reality of life and the beautiful reality we are offered in God’s love. But I’d imagine the pushback also comes because we don’t want reality to ruin our escapism. If we are forced to look at the iconic works of honored entertainers with the lens of God’s reality, we may not like what it shows us about ourselves. Former NBA star Charles Barkley famously agreed when he said “athletes are not role models.”

The same thing happens when entertainers step off the stage and into our realities. It messes with our brains. Once, I saw Quentin Tarantino eating a slice of pizza off a cardboard plate in a food court all by himself. And I was shocked. “That’s not right,” I said. Another time, I saw Bill Nye (the science guy) getting into a elevator with what looked to be three top-dollar prostitutes. That’s not right. And there was the time I watched Florence Henderson get sauced two stools away from me at the bar in a hotel lobby. Mrs. Brady, That’s not right. You’re ruining the mystique! Why won’t you just do what we want you to do? Get on the stage. Step on the court. Put on the uniform. Grab the microphone. Entertain us. Do the your little Macarena, or Gangnam style, or whatever it is today so we can all giggle. Play “Piano Man,” piano man. (more…)