The Progressive Christian Voice

Members of Western Presbyterian Church participate in a readers' theatre style reading of the The Cry of the Whole Congregation for Palm and Passion Sunday.

Western Presbyterian Church welcomes the Rev. Laura Cunningham to the pulpit. Rev. Cunningham preached this sermon as a candidating sermon - meaning, on this day, the congregation also voted to call Rev. Cunningham as their new lead pastor. Her sermon speaks to the ways that we sin, or separate ourselves from God. But, the prayer of Psalm 51 reveals the joy that comes from being filled with the forgiveness of God.

Lent is a season to wake up and open our eyes to be totally astonished. It’s a time to discover the shocking ways that God is in our lives and be amazed that God comes this far to be with us. We come to church because in the rituals of worship - hearing the Word, partaking of the sacraments - we have an opportunity to perceive God’s grace most clearly. But then, our worship does not stop here. We are then sent out to look for God, and even more, to partner with God in our various roles and venues to love and bless the people and world God loves so much.

To take up your cross, you have to put something down - most likely, that is the self-centered and self-important life. In doing so, one is freed to live with a self-giving love.

We need not be afraid of God's work in our lives. It might cause us to do things that make us uncomfortable and God's work in our lives might take us to places unknown. But, we need not be afraid because God's work in our lives takes us to places where all might discover healing and nourishment.

There is something fascinating about the juxtaposition in the Gospel of Mark of Jesus’ baptism and Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. This text encourages us to engage our spirituality and shatter our carefully constructed faith worlds. It reminds us that we are freed from the shackles of practicality to make room for spirituality.

We are enough for God.

Sermon on Mark 1:40-45. Braunstein

Oftentimes, we delude ourselves into thinking that we are convincing even God of who we want to be. But, even as Jonah discovered, it is much easier to delude oneself than to elude God. We need not craft our own version of ourselves. God already knows the true version of who we are and God has called us good. Would our world function differently if we could come and see and believe that people of all different life experiences, different races, different genders, different sexual orientations and income levels and religions – are fearfully and wonderfully made?

God says "yes" to being fully human and to being who we are. In our baptism, we are grounded in being God's beloved child to whom God said, "Yes" over and over again.

Can you think of a really good story? We, at Western, think the story of God's love, and specifically, the story of Jesus' birth is pretty incredible. We can't really top the Scripture story - so we just told it. The stories of Mary and Elizabeth, the Magnificat, the story of Mary and Joseph, and the story of the shepherds encounter with the angels - all comprise a magnificent story of the light and life of God coming into the world.

It is often difficult to recognize the difference that the Christ-child born among us makes in our lives. However, we learn from John 1 that we, as humans, have the power to acknowledge that we dwell in brokenness AND, that we, as people of faith, we are called to focus our attention on the light and point to the life in the midst of the brokenness.

During the Advent season, we prepare for the coming light of Christ. To prepare, we tell the stories of how it all happened and we sing songs to embody the story.

Advent 2. Braunstein

Advent 1 - Year B. Braunstein