Sunday, April 23, 2023
St. John’s Lutheran Church, Schuyler, NE
Third Sunday of Easter
watch this service online (readings start around 20:43; sermon starts around 28:40)
image source

It’s just crazy weather we’ve been having lately, right? For like three days – three glorious days – I got to wear tank tops and open up the windows of my house – and now, we’re almost to the end of April, and I swear to you I saw snowflakes like two days ago. But I guess that’s just springtime in Nebraska for you, right? You never really know what to expect from the weather this time of year.

But there is one thing you can pretty consistently expect from spring weather in Nebraska: and that’s the way that people will talk about spring weather in Nebraska. It’s almost this kind of liturgy that we keep repeating with each other year after year. For instance, someone might begin this liturgy by saying something like, “So wow, crazy weather we’ve been having lately, right?” – to which another person might respond with a phrase like, “Ugh, tell me about it! I heard they got a foot of snow out in the panhandle!” or “Yeah, it’s crazy, but you know we do need the moisture,” or “Well, you know, it wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for all this wind!” And almost inevitably, the sort of closing “Amen” of this liturgy is some variation of, “Well, I suppose we shouldn’t be too surprised – that’s just spring in Nebraska for you!”

Sunday, April 16, 2023
St. John’s Lutheran Church, Schuyler, NE
Second Sunday of Easter
watch this service online (readings start around 18:58; sermon starts around 26:29)

Do you know how many stars are in our galaxy? If I told you that there are over 100 billion stars just in our galaxy alone, would you believe me? You probably would, right? (And you should, because it’s true!) What if I told you that for every person on earth, there are about 1.5 million ants? You might be a little more skeptical on that one, but most of you would probably believe me. But, if I told you that there was wet paint on that wall over there, you’d all have to touch it to believe me.

It’s one thing for us to hear data about astronomical numbers like how many stars there are in the Milky Way or how many ants there are on earth. It’s interesting information, but not necessarily something we feel like we have an immediate stake in. Like, it probably doesn’t change much of anything for me to tell you that I lied earlier about the ants – there are actually closer to 2.5 million ants for each human. 

But wet paint we care about. It’s important to us. I mean, you could accidentally brush up against a wall and get wet paint all over your nice clean clothes. And for those of us who know this space so well, hearing that there’s wet paint would immediately raise questions, like: How can there be wet paint there? Who would be painting in here? And why? What happened? We’d feel compelled to go and touch the wet paint to see for ourselves if it’s really true. Our very skepticism, our doubt, shows that – unlike stars or ants – this is a question that really matters to us. 

Sunday, April 9, 2023
St. John’s Lutheran Church, Schuyler, NE
Easter Sunday
Adapted from commentary written by Gennifer Benjamin Brooks
watch this service online (readings start around 12:52; sermon starts around 19:56)

As those who were gathered here last evening for the Easter Vigil service can attest, I was still struggling to get a sermon hammered out for this morning, even as we were departing the church last night. Feeling stuck and unable to find the words that needed to be said, I did what preachers often do when they’re stuck, and turned to reading commentary on the gospel text. I came across some commentary on this text from John written by Gennifer Benjamin Brooks, who is a preaching professor at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Chicago — and, fittingly for a preaching professor, her commentary already read to me like a sermon. Her words already proclaimed the good news that I wanted to say, and I thought to myself, “Hallelujah! Christ is risen — and I get to sleep!” I’ve rearranged and adapted it a little bit for my voice when reading aloud, and added in some things here and there, but here is a good Easter word mainly from the Rev. Dr. Brooks!

Friday, April 7, 2023
Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church, Omaha, NE
Good Friday
watch this service online

I had the honor of being invited to preach at Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church in Omaha at their Tre Ore service, which is a service traditionally held on Good Friday from noon to 3pm, commemorating the final hours of Christ on the cross. Seven preachers from different denominations gave sermons on each of the seven last words of Jesus. The word I preached on was “Woman, behold your son.”

John 19:23-27
²³ When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. ²⁴ So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it but cast lots for it to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill what the scripture says,

“They divided my clothes among themselves,
    and for my clothing they cast lots.”

²⁵ And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

This is the day that Mary has been dreading – ever since the days when her beloved son was still small enough that she could cradle him in her arms. She has known for a long time that his path would one day lead them here. 

Thursday, April 6, 2023
St. John’s Lutheran Church, Schuyler, NE
Maundy Thursday
watch this service online (readings start around 8:06; sermon starts around 15:56)

Over the last month or so, I have unexpectedly become a big fan of a show I’d never heard of before – a show called “Hot Ones.” It’s a series on YouTube in which the host interviews celebrities – but as they answer questions, they have to eat these increasingly spicy chicken wings. And these wings get HOT – like practically weapons-grade spiciness. As the show goes on, you can see how visibly uncomfortable people get – their faces get all red; they start sweating and tearing up and chugging milk; by the end, some are literally yelling swearing at the host. Heh, it’s a pretty fun time.

I enjoy the show mostly for the conversations. Because these chicken wings are so absurdly spicy, it’s just painful and distracting enough that it kind of peels away the carefully cultivated and composed exterior that people come in with and forces them to just be real – to show who they really are and say what they really think. It’s hard to keep looking cool and poised when your mouth is on fire and your face is melting.

But because of that, I have to admit that there’s also a bit of a guilty pleasure in this show for me. Most of the guests on the show are fairly humble and nervous about how well they’ll be able to handle the wings. But every once in a while, you’ll get someone who comes in who’s just super cocky and full of themselves – usually it’s some young hotshot White guy – someone who is just chock full of unearned confidence that they are going to crush these wings like a champ. It is so satisfying to watch them crash and burn – by the end, they’re in so much pain that they’re like trying to snort milk to cool their sinuses and they can’t even pretend to be cool anymore. It’s satisfying to watch their egos be taken down a peg – and then another, and another.

The Germans actually have a word for this kind of feeling (because of course they do). They call it schadenfreude. There’s no precise translation for it in English, but the basic meaning of schadenfreude is: taking pleasure in the suffering of someone else.