Most weeks, our worship leader offers a 15–20 minute sermon based on the Scripture texts for the day.
Our regular preacher is pretty versatile. She’ll tell stories, pull together different ideas, lead a meditation, give the congregation an “assignment” to talk about in twos or threes, show a slide show or video, or sometimes even sing to the congregation. The sermon functions to deepen our reflection on the Scripture themes of the day, and often leaves us with a challenge or a question.
Scripture texts are outlined in the Revised Common Lectionary.
“What is This?”
For the fourth Sunday after Epiphany, Rev. Cari carries on where the text left off last week… in Mark 1:21-28. This story of Jesus’ encounter with a person with an “unclean spirit” is definitely a visit from a distant time and culture. So how do we receive it as authoritative text, yet not necessarily literal…
Jesus: Interruption or Disruption?
For the third Sunday after Epiphany, Rev. Cari’s sermon touched on both I Corinthians 7:29-31 and Mark 1:14-20. She was playing with the pandemic “categories” of interruption and disruption, and recalled the graphic the Rev. David Robertson introduced to Crossroads in the spring. (The image is attached as a pdf.) Then she moved to a…
An Apophatic Journey
This Sunday, for the annual visit to Crossroads by a student from the Vancouver School of Theology, Crossroads welcomes fourth year M.Div. student Cathy Merchant. Cathy is a Buddhist studying at a Christian seminary, and her calling is to Interfaith ministry. Cathy reflects with the Crossroads congregation on Psalm 139, hearing it with the ears…
Beginning
For the Baptism of Jesus, Rev. Cari holds the events of January 6 at the US Capitol, Genesis 1:1-5 and Mark 1:4-11, and asks the questions, “How do we begin to move in the same direction together?” and “How do people change their minds and hearts?” Beyond characterizations of the “dark” as a fearful place,…
Revealed
For Epiphany Sunday, Rev. Cari jumps off from the story found in Matthew 2:1-12 about the visitors from the East. She pretty quickly diverts into an exploration of the similarities between the Magi, Severus Snape (from the Harry Potter books and movies) and Jean Valjean (from Les Miserables). In doing so, she reveals that sometimes, the complex…
The Mystery of the Incarnation
For Christmas Eve, Rev. Cari reflects with the congregation about the Mystery of the Incarnation. Quoting Father Richard Rohr, the American Franciscan spiritual teacher, she opens up the meaning of Jesus as both divine and human, “in the same body, at the same time.” This solidarity of God with humanity is not a matter for…
Becoming God-Bearers
Rev. Cari’s sermon for the fourth Sunday in Advent, is on the Annunciation: Luke 1:26-38. She starts with a poem by Brian Andreas, called “Different Plans,” and identifies how it’s easy to relate to the sense that life has taken a turn to the unanticipated, these days. Whatever plans Mary might have had for her…
The Anointing
The sermon for the third Sunday in Advent was on Isaiah 61:1-4,8-11, a text that reads at first like a to-do list. “Preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, heal broken hearts…” But it starts with the anointing of the Holy Spirit of Exalted God. So that means these movements toward…
Beginning in the Wilderness
For the second Sunday in Advent, Rev. Cari reflects with the congregation on Isaiah 40:1-11, with its comforting opening message, and Mark 1:1-8, with its more abrupt beginning. Both texts take us into the wilderness, that place of danger, wildness, and uncertainty. We find ourselves in the wilderness with John the Baptist, even before we…
Good Religion
For Reign of Christ Sunday, Rev. Cari preached on one of the parables of judgment, as found at Matthew 25:31-45. This “sorting” of the sheep and the goats by the Chosen One on the throne is an iconic text. It can invite “religious” folks into a self-congratulatory mode that is ultimately not very helpful for…