Behind Closed Doors

I preached this sermon on April 24, 2017 at the Isesaki Covenant Church. It was the second Sunday of Easter.

John 20:19-31

Following Jesus isn’t always easy. In fact, at times it is most definitely difficult. And trying to do something difficult is often accompanied by fear. During this Easter season we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and read the scripture texts that bear witness to that great event. After coming thru the difficult Lenten season where we tend to focus on our own sins and shortcomings, Easter brings great joy! But there is a subtext of fear that is evident in almost every one of the resurrection and post-resurrection texts. Those who encountered the risen Lord all experienced a mix of joy and fear. Today we’ve read of the disciples who had locked themselves behind closed doors for fear of the people who had been behind Jesus’ death. It’s probably easy enough to imagine why they were afraid.

Resurrection Faith

I preached this sermon at the Isesaki Covenant Church on April 16, 2017, Easter Sunday.

Matthew 28:1-10

Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection defies all common logic and was an inexplicable event, so for me to stand here in the pulpit and speak of it is in some ways just as unbelievable as Mary Magdalene and the other Mary hearing the angel speak of it. But they had felt the ground shake, whereas my sermon is in all likelihood not going to be accompanied by any earthquakes. Furthermore, they saw the stone being rolled back to reveal the empty grave; they actually saw the stone moving. And the angel’s clothing was glowing brightly, unlike the rather dark colored clothes I’m wearing today. But we can certainly attempt to picture these fantastic events in our mind’s eye. What’s different is the sense of reality…

Who Is This?

I preached this sermon at Kurume Christ Church on April 9th, 2017, Palm Sunday.

Matthew 21:1-11

Today is Palm Sunday, a day of mixed emotions. We’ve been in the Lenten season for several weeks, a time when we are encouraged to ponder our own shortcomings, our own sin. Lent is a time when the church historically focusses on the personal answer to the question, why did Jesus have to die on the cross. Followers of Jesus are pushed to re-examine the painful fact that each one of us is a living example of why Jesus’ death was necessary. As such it isn’t a very happy season to say the least. But then today we come to Palm Sunday, a brief pause in the somber mood of Lent. Today we remember and celebrate the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. He was welcomed as a king. A huge celebration broke out. People lined the streets, showering him with praise. One can’t help but be reminded of victory parades that take place whenever champions return from sporting victories. Championship baseball teams, medal winning Olympic athletes, and tournament winning sumo wrestlers all have victory parades. Of course the modern version usually involves an open convertible car driving down a busy street with lots of confetti in the air. Jesus’ victory parade into Jerusalem is different in significant ways.

To Serve The Church

I preached this sermon on April 1st, 2017 (no joke intended!) at the Covenant Seminary in Tokyo. If you are checking your calendar you’ll probably notice that April 1st was a Saturday. The event was the seminary’s annual entrance ceremony. In Japan the school year and the fiscal year begin on April 1st. Entrance ceremonies are a big deal here, often even bigger than graduation ceremonies. In a sense I think the term “Commencement Ceremony” would be more appropriate since this is the commencement of studies for the new students but for some reason that term has been curiously co-opted for graduation ceremonies. The Covenant Seminary currently has 81 students, making it the largest seminary in Japan and enrollment has been steadily increasing for several years in spite of the fact that many seminaries in Japan are struggling to find any students at all. I teach homiletics and a church history class about pietism at the Covenant Seminary and love it. This sermon might not sound like it was very welcoming to new students but my intent was to simply drive home some of the unavoidable realities of being a seminary student in today’s world. Whether I think the modern role of pastor is a good thing or not is an entirely different topic, into which I intentionally did not delve in this sermon.

Exodus 3:1-12

We are here today to celebrate the commencement of studies for these people seated here in the front. Recently in this same place we celebrated the graduation of students after several years of hard work. Someone commented at that time that while graduation is always a happy celebration, commencement has a much more somber mood.