The Shepherds and the Scandal of Divine Hospitality
When God wanted to announce the birth of the Messiah, who got the invitation? Not the religious authorities or political leaders or wealthy elite. God went straight to the shepherds—the people considered too unclean for temple worship, too untrustworthy for legal testimony, too marginal to matter. Their inclusion wasn't an afterthought or an act of charity; it was a declaration that God's hospitality is scandalous, consistently choosing those whom human systems exclude. The shepherds' story reveals that God doesn't just work through the unexpected—God prefers the overlooked, the marginalized, the people who know most intimately what it means to need good news. As we prepare for Christmas, their story challenges us to examine our own guest lists and discover what radical welcome might look like in our lives and communities.
Joseph And The Challenge Of Not Mansplaining
Joseph faced an impossible situation: his fiancée was pregnant, and he knew he wasn't the father. He had every cultural and religious right to publicly divorce Mary and protect his reputation. Instead, Joseph did something revolutionary—he chose to believe Mary's experience rather than explaining it away. He walked alongside rather than taking charge. He offered presence without trying to control the narrative. In a culture that often teaches men (and anyone with privilege) that their value comes from being the expert with all the answers, Joseph models a different way: the courage to listen, the wisdom to trust someone else's truth, and the strength to support rather than lead. His story challenges all of us to examine where we might need to practice the ministry of presence instead of the ministry of having all the answers.
Magnificat and the Revolutionary Power of "Yes, And..."
For too long, Mary has been portrayed as the perfect example of quiet submission—saying yes to God and then fading into the background. But that's not Mary's story at all. Mary doesn't just say "yes" to God's invitation; she says "Yes, and..." and then offers one of the most radical visions of justice in all of scripture. Her Magnificat isn't gentle spiritual poetry—it's revolutionary theology that declares God's intention to turn the world's power structures upside down. Mary shows us that faithful discipleship doesn't mean losing ourselves or staying quiet about injustice. Instead, it means bringing our whole selves—our dreams, our questions, our passion for justice—to the collaborative work of transformation. This week, we explore what it means to say "Yes, and..." to God and discover our own prophetic voice.
Gratitude Is Noticing God
"Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."
Most of life's essential work happens beneath the surface, unseen but absolutely vital—like the vast underground networks that connect trees, sharing nutrients and information across entire forests. Gratitude is learning to notice this hidden web of grace that sustains everything. When we practice gratitude, we're not just counting blessings; we're participating in recognizing God's active presence all around us. The Greek word for gratitude, eukharistia, shares the same root as grace—kharis—God's unmerited favor at work in our world.
When we choose a perspective of gratitude, we're literally noticing God at work through infinite vessels in countless ways. Even in hard seasons, even when the surface looks barren, there's an underground network of grace sustaining life, connecting us all, inviting us to dig a little deeper and see the abundance that surrounds us. This isn't about denying problems but recognizing that even now, grace is present, love is active, and God's transforming work continues in ways we might miss if we're not paying attention.
Legacy Sunday
Life isn't an individual event—it's a team event, a human event, and we're in this together with each other and for each other. Even more, we're in this with those who came before, who handed us the baton of this great race, and with those who will come after and carry on the work. The first followers of Jesus had a word for those people—hagias, saints—not stained glass perfection, but those who have been used by God for good in our lives, for love, life, and liberation.
The author of Hebrews paints this beautiful picture: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us." These are the people who have run the race before us, caught their breath, and are cheering us on right now. The Greek word "surrounded" means being bound up together—their lives are interwoven in ours, surrounding us and woven into who we are.
We don't get to choose what part of the race is set before us, but we get to choose how we run. At this church, we stand on the shoulders of those who faced great obstacles and oppression—inclusion advocates, integration pioneers, saints who opened doors we walk through today. They could not have imagined what God was doing, just like we can't imagine where our race will lead.
We run in honor of those who have gone before and for the sake of those who will come after, pursuing God's dream of justice, joy, and peace with courage, creativity, and conviction. May we run our leg of this great relay with perseverance, knowing we're surrounded by that great cloud of witnesses.
The Bible On Broadway: The Wizard Of Oz
What if Dorothy’s journey teaches us that we don’t need to escape to find home—we need to learn to see it? Exploring The Wizard of Oz and Jesus’ radical message that “the kingdom of God is at hand,” we discover how blessing our actual lives (not our #blessed lives) helps us see the color beneath the grey. What if Kansas was never actually grey—it was just painted over? Let’s learn to see the wonder right where we are. Part of our “Bible on Broadway” series.
Sacred Reciprocity
Indigenous wisdom about living in sacred reciprocity with creation, honoring the interconnectedness of all life, and understanding the earth as gift rather than resource offers profound insights for our ecological and spiritual lives. Drawing from voices like Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass, we'll explore Indigenous teachings about gratitude, the Seven Generations principle, and seeing creation as relative rather than property.
After acknowledging our presence on land originally stewarded by the Caddo Nation and other tribes, we'll discover how Indigenous wisdom about creation care resonates deeply with the biblical vision of humans as caretakers rather than owners of God's earth. While honoring Indigenous traditions' beautiful emphasis on living in right relationship with the natural world, we'll explore how Jesus, who spoke of God's care for sparrows and lilies, calls us into the same sacred reciprocity—receiving creation as gift and responding with grateful stewardship for the healing of the world.
Wrestling and Covenant
Judaism, the tradition that gave birth to Jesus's own faith, offers profound wisdom about wrestling with God, arguing with the sacred, and finding identity in covenant relationship rather than perfect understanding. We'll explore Judaism's emphasis on doing justice, pursuing questions, and trusting in God's steadfast love (hesed) that remains faithful even through our struggles and doubts.
The connections between Passover and communion reveal how Jesus, deeply rooted in Jewish tradition, opened the covenant of God's liberating love to include all people—a work that continues today as we gather around tables across the globe on World Communion Sunday. While honoring Judaism's beautiful emphasis on this-worldly justice and communal wrestling with faith, we'll discover how Jesus resonates with the deepest promises of the Hebrew scriptures, extending God's steadfast love to embrace every seeking heart. Jewish wisdom about questioning and justice-seeking can inspire our own courage to wrestle with God and work for the inclusive world God dreams.
Coexist: Islam (Surrender and Justice)
Islam's core message of surrender (Islam means "submission") to the One God who is "merciful and compassionate" offers profound wisdom about devotion, prayer discipline, and commitment to justice for the vulnerable. We'll explore the Five Pillars of Islam and discover how our Muslim neighbors' dedication to daily prayer, charitable giving, and pilgrimage reflects both beautiful wholehearted devotion to God and faith expressed through concrete practice.
While appreciating Islam's emphasis on surrendering to God's will through faithful action, we'll explore how this resonates with Jesus's teachings about loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Through Muslim wisdom about justice, surrender, and faith in practice, we can deepen our own commitment to lived discipleship, while discovering how Jesus embodies the merciful, compassionate character of God that our Muslim neighbors teach us.
The Path of Compassion
Buddhism's profound teachings about releasing the ego's demands, practicing mindfulness, and cultivating compassion offer wisdom that resonates deeply with Jesus's call to "lose your life to find it." We'll explore the Buddha's Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, appreciating Buddhism's emphasis on intentional spiritual practice and its beautiful insight that suffering often comes from grasping too tightly to impermanent things.
While honoring Buddhism's distinctive approach to liberation through the extinguishing of desire, we'll discover how Jesus offers a different path—not the elimination of the self, but the discovery of our true selves in relationship with the God who created us for love. Through Buddhist wisdom about mindfulness and compassion, we can deepen our own practices of prayer and service, while sharing how the God we know in Jesus offers permanent love in an impermanent world.
Fellow Travelers & Sacred Light
Paul's encounter at the Areopagus establishes a profound model for interfaith engagement: approaching other traditions with appreciation rather than condemnation, recognizing that all humanity is "searching for God," and trusting that divine presence is already at work in every seeking heart. Using this framework, we explore Hinduism as a case study in learning from our neighbors' faith wisdom.
Hindu concepts like "namaste" (the God in me bows to the God in you), yoga as union with the divine, and the beautiful diversity between jnana (knowledge) and bhakti (devotion) paths offer insights that resonate with Christian teachings about seeing Christ in others and finding our identity in relationship with God. Through figures like Gandhi, whose "satyagraha" (soul force) influenced Dr. King, we discover how Hindu wisdom about holding fast to truth can deepen our own commitment to justice and nonviolence.
The Secret of Contentment
Paul writes from prison that he has "learned the secret of being content in any and every situation." This isn't passive resignation or toxic positivity, but the deep spiritual resource that comes from knowing that in Christ, we have enough strength to face whatever comes—including the long, sometimes discouraging work of justice and love.
The famous "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" isn't about athletic achievement or personal success, but about finding the spiritual stamina for sustained engagement with the work of love. It's about contentment that fuels action rather than passivity, finding joy in the work even when outcomes are uncertain, and discovering how community becomes a source of strength for the long haul.
This sermon addresses both individual sustainability (putting on our perspectacles to see the sacred in the ordinary, taking off our shoes to experience simple presence) and community resilience for justice work. When we know we're held by the all-sufficient love of God, we can give generously, act courageously, and keep going even when the road is long and the progress feels slow.
The Mind of Christ
The secret engine of powerful, constructive community isn't found in being right, but in being humble—having the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. This mind is curious rather than certain, quick to listen rather than quick to speak, and puts the interests of others before our own need to be correct.
Drawing from personal experience of learning that worth isn't found in rightness, this sermon offers practical wisdom for how humility transforms relationships and communities. It's about leading with "I'm sorry," asking genuine questions, checking our privilege, and creating space for voices different from our own. The righteous person, as Bruce Waltke defines it, is "willing to forgo their own advantage in order to advantage the community."
This doesn't mean losing yourself or accepting harmful dynamics—it means extending yourself for the spiritual growth of others while maintaining healthy boundaries. It's the difference between self-sacrifice that diminishes life and self-giving that creates more life for everyone. When we honor each other's stories and lean into mutual listening, we discover the power of being in right relationship rather than just being right.
Pressing On
Paul writes about "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead"—not in an individualistic, bootstrap way, but as part of a community movement toward God's future. We're a forward-leaning community, always becoming, never settling for "that's how we've always done it" but stretching toward the world God dreams.
Partnership in the Good News
Paul opens his letter with deep gratitude for his partners in the gospel—people who stood with him through everything, including when the work of love got him thrown in jail. This isn't hierarchy or power-over dynamics, but true partnership where everyone has a sacred role to play. Paul describes them as "set apart, not set above"—each bringing different gifts and experiences to the table, but all equal partners in the work of love.
As we celebrate Promotion Sunday and send our students into new chapters with backpack blessings, we're reminded that God's partnership with us spans generations. What God began in each of us, God is faithful to complete—not just individually, but across generations as we pass the work of love from one to another. Our school partnership with Carolyn Bukhair illustrates this beautifully: when we use what we have for the advantage of the community rather than just ourselves, beautiful things grow that benefit everyone.
This is who we are at Arapaho—a community where every voice matters, every generation contributes, and we're all in this work of love together. From children to elders, from those just exploring faith to seasoned disciples, we each have something essential to offer in partnership with God's good news that love wins.
Voices Among Us: A Community Panel on Sacred Influencers
For our final week, we invite members of the Arapaho community to share the voices that have shaped their own faith journeys. In this panel conversation, we'll hear diverse stories of how books, mentors, theologians, and unexpected guides have helped our own community members navigate their paths of faith and justice with words that arrived at just the right moment. These testimonies remind us that God speaks through many voices to shape our understanding. This participatory conclusion to our series embodies what we've been learning all along—that we don't journey alone, but are carried by a "great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1-2). As we listen to each other's stories, we'll also recognize our own calling to become influencers—not through followers or platforms, but through faithful presence and love in action. Drawing from 1 Peter 2:9-10, we'll reflect on how we are all "called out of darkness into God's wonderful light" not just for ourselves, but to enlighten the world, just as God enlightens us through our influences. The question isn't whether we will influence others, but what kind of influence we will have. Together, we'll explore how we might carry forward the wisdom we've received, adding our own voices to the chorus of those who point the way toward God's dream for our world.
Saints Beyond Boundaries: Finding God in Queer Lives
The Christian tradition includes countless stories of saints who lived radical lives of love and justice, yet many saints remain hidden from our traditional narratives. This message explores the lives and legacies of LGBTQ+ Christians whose witness reveals God's presence in unexpected places.
John Wesley's Unfinished Revolution
How does a rigid, rule-following Anglican priest become the founder of a movement that transforms the world? John Wesley's journey from spiritual perfectionist to grace-filled revolutionary offers a roadmap for those of us still figuring out our faith. Drawing from Wesley's own words about his heart being "strangely warmed" (Acts 16:14), we explore how personal transformation leads to social revolution. Wesley discovered that God's grace isn't earned through perfect behavior but experienced through open hearts—a revelation that freed him to challenge Calvinist predestination with the radical belief that God's love is truly for all people. This wasn't just theological hair-splitting; it was life-changing news that sparked the Methodist movement's commitment to both personal holiness and social justice. Wesley's famous "Catholic spirit" (2 Kings 10:15) teaches us that while we may not think alike, we must love alike—an openness that led him toward universalist hopes and created space for theological growth. Through Wesley's influence, we discover that faith isn't a destination but a journey of "going on to perfection"—not moral flawlessness but growing in love. As our Book of Discipline reminds us, our theological task is both critical and constructive, testing inherited beliefs against the fruits of love while building something new for our generation. Wesley's unfinished revolution continues in us as we learn that the best theology is always a work in progress, rooted in grace and oriented toward justice for all people. His legacy challenges us to keep our hearts warm, our minds open, and our hands busy with the work of love.