Rev Chris Roth

Exodus 34:29-35; Psalm 99; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2; Luke 9:28-43 Today we have reached the end of the season of Epiphany. “Epiphany” comes from a Greek word meaning something like “manifestation”. Many medieval calendars used the Greek name “Theophany” for this season, which means ‘manifestation of God’. This season is about how God was made manifest in the person of Jesus. … The season is bookended by two major events. The first is the visit of the Magi to Jesus and his parents, and the last is the Transfiguration of Jesus before his Apostles on the mountain. … Right before our Gospel reading today Jesus asks his disciples the question, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they report back the rumours that have been circulating, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again” (Lk 9:18-20). Jesus then turns and asks them a more important question. His second question is not about what people say, but what they say as h...

  Genesis 45:3-11, 15; Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40; 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50; Luke 6:27-38 At the moment, our society is full of opportunities for conflict. … Some see the truckers’ protest as a heroic stand to release the country from increasingly unnecessary government mandates, while others see it as an expression of systemic white supremacy. … Some see every interaction within our society as being marked by subtle racist, sexist, ableist, and other kinds of xenophobic powerplays that create a hierarchy of the privileged and oppressed. Others balk at the suggestion that things are so bad as an expression of ingratitude for the technology, medicine, and democracy that we all enjoy. They ask us to consider what time and place we would rather live in- where would we find more prosperity and justice. … Some express the need to move to greener technologies to lessen the destructive human footprint on the planet, and others speak about supporting jobs in the oilfield as a way of creatin...

Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26 We all have ideas about who is blessed and who is not. Every individual and every culture has a criterion for both, though it might not always be said out loud. Blessed are those with a solid retirement savings. Blessed are those with a family who are all married with good jobs and healthy children. Blessed are those who are not dealing with any major health problems. And cursed are those who are plagued by addiction and debt. Cursed are those who struggle with cancer. Cursed are those who have an estranged child. Cursed are those with below average intelligence, or below average social skill. Cursed are those with crippling social anxiety. Human beings are often consumed with thoughts about being on the “right side” and avoiding the “wrong side”. We do this in almost every area of human life. Socially, we create a kind of hierarchy of success with some above and some belove. Politically, we talk about being ...

Is 6:1-13; Ps 138; 1 Cor 15:1-11; Lk 5:1-11 In the season of Epiphany we look at manifestations of God. Our reading from Isaiah is very much in this theme. In our reading, the prophet has a vision of God in the temple. He sees God sitting on a throne … along with 6-winged angels. The prophet responds,  ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’ (Is 6:5).  … When we are faced with God, the Holy Creator of the universe, a common reaction is to become very aware of our own sinfulness, or our unworthiness to be in God’s presence. Peter has a similar reaction. … They are on the shore of the sea of Galilee, and as the crowd grows, Jesus gets in Peter’s fishing boat and asks him to push out a bit from the shore. He does this to create a natural amphitheater using the shoreline. When Jesus was done teaching, he tells Peter to go out to the deeper water to let down th...