Though justice be thy plea, consider this: That in the course of justice none of us Should see salvation. We do pray for mercy, And that same prayer doth teach us all to render The deeds of mercy. — William Shakespeare
by Colleen Kelly
Kids can spot Santa Claus in the twinkling of an eye. But who knows the real St. Nick, a spry guy with olive skin who lived in what's now Turkey and whose ample compassion inspired century after century of legend? We'll introduce you to him today.
Just the Facts
Read more ›by Ken Sehested
Text: John 1:1-18
Background: Our congregation’s Christmas service was in one of our member’s farm barn, with a simple Christmas story reenactment interspersed with singing Christmas carols. The following Sunday we used the lectionary text from John 1.
We had a wonderful Christmas at our house. All our kinfolk managed to safely dodge the worst of the weather. With 10 people in the house, two of them juiced-up preschoolers, shoveling snow and splitting firewood offered a welcome break from the clamor. Of course, it’s always a special treat to watch youngsters rip open Christmas gifts.
Read more ›•Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. Exod. 7:16
•The Israelites complained to Moses, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” Exod. 14:12
•Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food. Num. 21:5
Read more ›by Ken Sehested
“Do not say to yourself, “My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.”
—Deuteronomy 8:17
§ § §
Read more ›Two ancient texts to begin:
The Problem: Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. (Genesis 6:11)
The Solution: Heal the sick, and say to them, 'the reign of God has come near you.' (Luke 10:9)
Read more ›Near the end of seminary training, I made a listing of what had been the most important books in my theological education. As one reared in deep-water Baptist tradition, I was shocked to recognize that more than two-thirds of my “most important” guides were Roman Catholic authors.
I now say that while my ship of faith has many sails, its mainsail is that legacy flowing from the anabaptist outburst of the 16th century (though that movement’s precursors stretch back to 14th century figures like the Czech priest Jan Hus and the Oxford theologian John Wycliffe—and even 13th century figures like St. Francis in Italy and the Beguine communities, a lay, semi-monastic order of single women (later repressed) in the Low Countries of Europe, all of whom dissented from the church’s wealth and privilege.
Long story short, my anchorage among the Radicals stems from two reasons: First, because of their thoroughgoing affirmation of what I call the “democratizing of access to the holy” and, correspondingly, their undermining of all notions of political sovereignty. Second, the anabaptist majority’s (there were dissenters on this score) refusal, on theological grounds, to wield the sword in defense of the state. (For more on this, see “Public reasoning and ekklesial reckoning: Commentary on the Vatican conference calling for ‘spirituality and practice of active nonviolence’ to displace church focus on just war” and "Enough of this! Toward a theology of nonviolence: Why I don’t often use the language of ‘pacifism’.”)
Read more ›by Ken Sehested
When three of us began daydreaming about a starting a new congregation,
during long hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the first year of the new millennium,
one of the things we immediately imagined was worship centered around communion,
including placing the table in the center of our seating. Every Sunday—which is unusual
in Protestant bodies. None of us were raised that way. This tangible ritual act—of
re-membering in the midst of a dismembered world—is poignantly expressive of our
theological vision.
Moreover, we wanted to do this with bodies in motion, as an act of intentionality,
requiring each to stand, to walk, to mingle in random, status-scrambling order with
others, encircling a round table—with the offering plate right there on the table
sharing space with the cup and homemade Host, along with hand-picked flowers, one
or more candles burning in remembrance of those not present and, on occasion,
pastoral letters of encouragem
ent or prophetic challenges issued from the congregation
and signed by all so willing.
Ken Sehested
Circle of Mercy Congregation
19 September 2005
Text: Judges 19:1-30
There have been two special occasions in my life when I have become agonizingly aware of the special fear women feel over the threat of sexual assault.
The first happened when Nancy and I were counting the days before our wedding. Every couple weeks she came in from where she went to school in New Jersey to meet me in a chaplain’s office in New York City. We were doing a series of premarital counseling sessions.
Read more ›Ken Sehested,
Text: Hebrews 2:5-12 (The Message)
The main title of this sermon, “remembering the future,” is a nonsensical notion. How can you remember the future since it hasn’t happened yet? Maybe if you love science fiction, or if you’re a fan of the actor Michael J. Fox, you can imagine going “back to the future.” But remembering the future?
How silly is that, in a grown-up world?
Read more ›In Scripture, water can symbolize either deliverance or death, salvation or destruction, healing or harm, prosperity or peril, blessing or curse, assurance or threat. What follows is a selection of such texts.
§ . . . the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. —Genesis 1:2
§ So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. —Genesis 1:21
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