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“Battle Hymn of the Kingdom”: a sermon for the FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

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  ·         Scripture Texts: Deuteronomy 7.7-11; Psalm 34.1-10, 15-18; Gospel of Luke 1.46-55      Weird news.   What’s the strangest story you’ve ever heard?   What’s the most bizarre thing to ever happen to you?   Who did you tell?   Did they believe you?   Make no mistake about it.   The Gospel story – the story of Jesus as told by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – is strange .   It’s a strange story about a strange God who calls unlikely people to participate in his bizarre plan to save the world.   When we reduce the good news about Jesus to, for example, “4 Spiritual Laws”, it sounds straightforward, logical – it becomes a kind of formula .   Just follow the steps of the recipe, and your cake will come out of the oven looking – and tasting – great.   If our reaction upon hearing the gospel is “oh, that makes sense”, we may have misunderstood its radical nature.   The ...
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“What did you expect?”: a sermon for EASTER SUNDAY 2026

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  Text: Gospel of St. Luke 24.13-53      Divine Comedy.   Would you like to go for a walk?   Just to be clear, this is not an invitation to leave the room.   Rather, I’d like for you to join me as I walk through this Gospel passage – which, as it happens, is all about two walks undertaken on the same day but each in a very different mood.   This story, which begins on Easter afternoon, is full of pathos and what the late NT exegete Richard B. Hays called “exquisite dramatic irony” [1] ; indeed, I find it to be quite humorous, even playful.   This Gospel scene reminds one of a Shakespearean comedy.   Of course, the God of Israel is somewhat of a wily God – he seems to enjoy surprises and plot twists.   The New Testament claims that he did indeed keep all the promises made to his people, and yet as he did so, he upended all expectations for how he would prove faithful to Israel.   God sends his Son into the world to red...
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