Sermons on Justice

Good News To The Poor: You Will Have it Real Nice In The Afterlife!

Good News To The Poor: You Will Have it Real Nice In The Afterlife! “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” These are the words, cited from the book of Isaiah, with which Jesus starts his…

Herod, too, is the Reason for the Season*

Herod, too, is the Reason for the Season* – Matt 2:13-23 After Jesus was born, the Holy Family is forced to flee from King Herod’s wrath. They find refuge in Egypt. Herod’s cruel and murderous rule reminds us of our responsibility as citizens to actively participate in the political process. Some of us are called to stand for office. All of us are called to be well informed, to vote, and to communicate with our elected officials. Guided by Jesus’…

God’s Promises

God’s Promises – Matthew 11:2-11 This Sunday, we will talk about one of the persistent messages of biblical storytelling: God made promises and now we have to wait for them to become true! But in a mysterious way, they are true already – Something has already happened. We can feel it is here already, but it will be complete in the future. God reaches out to us from the future, but in the time in between, what we feel to…

Do not be afraid of ambitious visions!

Do not be afraid of ambitious visions! – Isaiah 11:1-10; Matthew 3:1-12 Today’s Isaiah text expresses the vision of a perfect community that resides in the kingdom of God. It is a community that is at peace with each other. Conflicts that govern contemporary life have been resolved. Don’t be discouraged because the envisioned state of being seems unlikely. Ambitious visions take time. Our time on this world is relatively short. God’s exists on an entirely different time scale. But…

Following Christ Means Compassion

Following Christ Means Compassion Culture and ideology are powerful forces. Humans tend to harmonize their reading of scripture and their understanding of religion with their culture and religion, even if that means severe intellectual contortion. The only way to follow Christ’s call to love is to base all of our actions on compassion with those who will be affected by the things we do and believe. In the face of the other we will recognize Christ. Jesus calls us to…

Church Discipline

Church Discipline Church discipline is a very touchy topic. Images pop up in our minds of self-selfrighteous clergy persons bringing their people in line with doctrine. The means to do that often show very little grace. They can go from public shame, excommunication, incarceration all the way to execution. Today our society has secularized. The wrath of the clergy has lost its sting. If you think the pastor or priest is an idiot and/or the doctrines are stupid you simply…

Feeding Of The 5000

Feeding Of The 5000 The miracle stories are some of the most memorable stories in the whole bible. At the same time they are the hardest to believe, especially in a society that that is sure that it believes in facts and rational thinking. But like in all other societies that came before the modern age, people do not turn to facts to find meaning. People are influenced by culture, gender, race, class, ideology, religion, half-knowledge and guesswork, just to…

Jesus Quest For Justice Brings Division

True peace means justice. We don’t like change. Even if the status quo means injustice for many people.  Jesus brings division in his ultimate quest for peace. True peace cannot exist without justice. And justice means according to Luke: The poor need more and the rich need less. Jesus path is not easy, but it is true. It is the path which leads to peace. Rev. Kristin Luana Baumann, sermon, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Port Angeles WA, 8/14/2016.