July 11, 2010

Exodus 3:1-15

Summer Sermon Series: Walking with Moses:  Stories from the Book of Exodus - Part 2

Rev. Cynthia Cochran-Carney, Willow Grove Presbyterian Church, Scotch Plains, New Jersey

"How did you first feel called to ministry?  How did you decide to become a pastor?" Questions often asked of us in this profession. Sometimes it's an idle question,  small talk from strangers trying to be polite and seem interested, while they scan the room for someone safer to talk to. Sometimes it's a probing question, asked by someone earnestly wondering how people decide that direction in their lives.

There are many stories of call in the Bible.  Moses saw a burning bush. Isaiah experienced an earthquake in the temple. Paul was temporarily blinded and thrown to the ground.

And from the early church, eleventh century mystic Hildegard of Bingen (a favorite of mine) describes her experience as: "a burning light of tremendous brightness coming from heaven poured into my entire mind. Like a flame that does not burn but enkindles, it inflamed my entire heart...just like the sun that warms an object with its rays...All of a sudden I was able to taste of the understanding..."  (Hildegard of Bingen: Mystical Writing, Bowie & Davies, eds, Crossroad, 1990)

July 4, 2010

Matthew 1:1-6, Genesis  25 (selected verses), Genesis 38 (selected verses)

Elder Jon Finne, Willow Grove Presbyterian Church, Scotch Plains, New Jersey

Matthew 1:1-6 (New International Version)

 ¹A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
    ²Abraham was the father of Isaac,
         Isaac the father of Jacob,
         Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
       ³Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
         Perez the father of Hezron,
         Hezron the father of Ram,
       ⁴Ram the father of Amminadab,
         Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
         Nahshon the father of Salmon,
       ⁵Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
         Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
         Obed the father of Jesse,
       ⁶and Jesse the father of King David.
      David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,

SURPRISE!

I am probably the last person you expected to be in front of you to bring a sermon.

Since some of you may not know who I am,  I am Jon Finne.  I am Clerk of Session and I’ve been the church’s bookkeeper off and on for 30+ years and I have absolutely no qualifications to be up here bringing a sermon this morning.

June 27, 2010

Exodus 1:8-22

Summer Sermon Series: Walking with Moses:  Stories from the Book of Exodus - Part 1

Rev. Cynthia Cochran-Carney, Willow Grove Presbyterian Church, Scotch Plains, New Jersey

There are days it’s hard to see God’s presence in the world.  Between our news and newsmakers, we have to ask, what’s happened to the world God intended?  Why doesn’t somebody fix this?  Why doesn’t God?

The Hebrew people wondered the same thing. At the beginning of Exodus they are living in slavery in Egypt.  At the end of Genesis we read the story  of Joseph taking in and forgiving his family.  He brings them to Egypt for food and safety.

Exodus 1 begins by reporting a rather amazing  development: the land is now "swarming" with Israelites!  Verb after verb the writer testifies that the Israelites are exceedingly numerous and that they fill the land. In other words, the writer wants us to know that God has kept his part of the promise to Abraham - his descendents are now a great people.  This has been no ordinary population explosion.  The verbs echo the Genesis 1 and  verbs describing creation, especially those regarding the living creatures that have the sea as their habitat: "Let the water teem with living creatures."  God has been silently present down in Egypt, multiplying the Hebrews to the extent that the land is teeming with them.

June 20, 2010  Fathers' Day

Judges 6

Rev. Cynthia Cochran-Carney, Willow Grove Presbyterian Church, Scotch Plains, New Jersey

Hero.  Who are your heroes?  Why?  What makes someone a hero?

My dad was one of my heroes- for his perseverance in life without a dad,

for his ability to learn to love unconditionally

for his incredible hope and optimism to face life's challenges

for his deep Christian faith

his love for brothers and sisters in Christ

his joy in getting to know my friends

his belief in my dreams and the dreams of my sisters and brothers and countless others

Kids have heroes might not expect. Joshua was working on a school project n 4th grade.  It was newspaper from page that included a section on my best day, my best friend, my hero.  He brought it home and  it said "My Uncle Jim is my hero because he taught me how to fish." When I told my brother that our trip to Sequioa national park and his time with Joshua fishing made him Joshua's hero, it moved my brother to tears.  The children and young people in our lives are listening and watching.  Being a hero is not often dramatic. 

June 13, 2010

Psalm 121, John 3:1-17

Rev. Cynthia Cochran-Carney, Willow Grove Presbyterian Church, Scotch Plains, New Jersey

Stories about births and death often make the news.  One night lately on the 11:00 news there was another story of someone being killed in I 80.  But this story was followed by  a story of a woman who did not quite make it to the hospital in time to deliver the baby.  The baby was delivered in the parking of the hospital.  Although our culture seems preoccupied with death and violence, I am grateful that there are moments we are still amazed by birth, by new life coming into the world. 

The story of Jesus' birth is well known and yet still a mystery.  I led a class a year or so ago using Kenneth Bailey's dvd series called "A Clear View of Jesus Birth."  Bailey has lived and taught for over 30 years in the Middle East so he comes to scripture from that cultural and historical understanding.  It included the famous line "Of course there is a manger in the living room" because people in Jesus' time did not have a barn for animals.  The animals would have lived in the lower end of the house and mangers would have been dug out of the floor.   Did Jesus' birth in Bethlehem near the animals define who he was?  Although he was born in Bethlehem,  he was called Jesus of Nazareth.  We don't have any texts of Jesus' ever talking about his birth in Bethlehem.  He talked about how one's spiritual birth is far more important than one's physical birth.