Holy Trinity Ankeny

We have spent a long time on the bank. Watching. Admiring. Keeping ourselves dry and in control. But there is a current underneath all of it that has been moving the whole time, and it didn't ask our permission before it started. The question Pentecost keeps asking is the one we keep not answering.   John 7:37-39 | Acts 2:1-21 | 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

We are waiting. We have been waiting. For the door to open, for things to resolve, for real life to finally start again. What if we've been wrong about which room we're in?   John 17:1-11 | Acts 1:6-14 | 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

We are exhausted. Not tired. Exhausted. And we cannot stop. We have been building altars about it for a very long time. And none of them are working.   But there is another way.   Acts 17:22-31 | John 14:15-21 | 1 Peter 3:13-22

An arrest. A sermon. A challenge. A response. The stones didn't come from the faithless ones. Just ask Caiaphas.   Acts 7:55–60 |1 Peter 2:2–10 | John 14:1–14

There are a lot of voices. And most of them sound convincing.   But not every voice gives life.   John 10:1-10

When two of the disciples who followed Jesus left town after the crucifixion, they took the road to Emmaus. It was a road to nowhere. Their hopes for the Messiah were broken; Jesus' death brought grief and despair. The "powers that be" had one more crushed hope on the wheels of history. They could not even recognize Jesus when he began to walk with them on this dark road. Then, however, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them and they could see him. Hope rekindled sent them scurrying back up the road to Jerusalem on the road to somewhere.

The response to Jesus' death in John's gospel is grief, fear, and unbelief. His followers are stuck and unable to set themselves free. The appearance of the resurrected Jesus sets them free and puts them on a new path. We are people who know about being stuck in grief, fear, and unbelief. These are hallmarks of our world. How does the resurrection set us free?

Resurrection announces that we live not driven by wishful thinking of a world that somehow gets better on its own, but by a living hope rooted in God's constant action that brings hope from despair, joy from mourning, and life from death.

Four words. There they crucified him. John doesn't linger. Doesn't explain. Just moves on.   We do.   Because the man on that cross didn't stay there because of what he was against. He stayed because of what he was for.   John 18:1—19:42  

Jesus commands us to love as he loved us. But words sometimes get bent and even a word like "love" can become vague or disputed. So, instead of just words, Jesus washes feet. That action shows us love instead of telling us about it.

Palm Sunday is supposed to feel like triumph. Palms waving. Hosannas shouting. But Matthew says the whole city was troubled. Shaking. And nobody could quite answer the question. Who is this? That tension, the beauty and the ache mingled together, that is glittering sadness. And there is a king who rides straight into the middle of it.   Matthew 21:1-11 | Philippians 2:5-11

Emilie Bouvier from ELCA World Hunger shares stories and reflections on ELCA ministries and today's readings of breath, bones, and resurrection.

Jesus encounters a man born blind. He gives him his sight. That should be enough of a story to tell, enough to convince us Jesus is who he says he is – the light of the world. It is not. As the story unfolds, we find ourselves realizing that the blind can see and the sighted are blind. We see how our lack of compassion, fear, and insistence that we are right keep us from seeing the grace of God before our eyes, so the light never captures the heart.

She came to the well with a jar. She left without it. Not because it was filled, it never was. Because somewhere in that conversation she understood something that changed everything. Water in a jar is not living water. Readings: John 4:5-42 | Romans 5:1-11 | Exodus 17:1-7 

In a world dominated by markets, winners and losers, earning our keep, it seems like earning God's love would be our chief spiritual pursuit. This is true for many, if not the majority. That makes God's grace a product to be bought, bargained for, or earned. It means grace is for sale. But it's not. To think this way is to live by the law, which, as Paul says, can only bring wrath. So, how do we stand before God? Grace upon grace.

The Grand Inquisitor looks at Jesus and says: I know exactly who you are. And we are going to have to kill you anyway. Not because he is confused. Not because he lacks evidence. Because he understands Jesus perfectly — and finds him unmanageable. This Lent, we are confronted with a question. Do we actually want the kind of Savior Jesus is? Matthew 4:1-11

The story of the Transfiguration of Jesus is a challenge. On the mountain, three disciples witness Jesus shing with the light of heaven. It is a deeply spiritual moment, full of mystery. Maybe that is why it is a challenge. We tend to be materialistic people. If something can't be touched, measured or possessed it is not real. Spiritual things are just wishful thinking. This story, however, declares that Jesus Christ is both spiritual and material, both divine and human. Heaven and earth are united in Christ. That is the core of the gospel. In Christ, God united all things including our bodies and souls.

We're exhausted. We pray, we give, we show up, and the world is still on fire. What if God isn't asking us to try harder? What if the light we're struggling to shine is already in us?   Matthew 5:13-20 | 1 Corinthians 2:1-12  | Isaiah 58:1-9a

The Beatitudes are among the most familiar teachings of Jesus. These verses proclaim blessedness - good news - to people we may not think are very blessed. That is good news for us.

The kingdom shows up in Galilee, not Jerusalem. Among fishermen, not scholars. On a cross, not a throne. We keep looking for God's power in the wrong places and missing the God who draws near in weakness, bleeds on a cross, and rises.   Readings: Matthew 4:12-23 | Isaiah 9:1-4 | 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

The world will tell you that "seeing is believing." People seek "proof" before they commit to anything, especially matters of faith. Oddly enough, Jesus takes the opposite path. In John's gospel, Jesus invites people to "Come and see." The "seeing" (knowing, trusting, understanding) will come after we have followed. The relationship with Jesus will reveal the truth of Jesus that already is all around us. Come and see!  

Baptism has come to mean lots of different things to different people. Maybe that is why it seems like baptism has no real impact on the world. If we really look at the Baptism of Jesus, however, we find an event that signifies a new age dawning. It is an age of peace instead of war, kindness instead of violence, order instead of chaos. We also learn that Baptism of Jesus is, in fact, our baptism too. Jesus gives it as a gift so that the world might be saved.

What do you do when you're troubled? Herod plots. Jesus raises the dead. The magi lay down their treasures and worship. Matthew's Epiphany story reveals two kingdoms: one that protects itself through fear, and one that gives itself away in love. Matthew 2:1-12 | Isaiah 60:1-6 | Ephesians 3:1-12

The Holy Innocents of Bethlehem are the first martyrs. To destroy Jesus, Herod orders all the baby boys under two to be killed. What do we make of this evil? What hope can we gain from this story? Even as we pray "deliver us from evil" the evil persists.

There are a lot of words in the world. Many, maybe most, bear little meaning. At worst, they divide us and promote the worst in us. Jesus is proclaimed as the Word made flesh, and we might wonder if we can bear another word. This Word, however, brings life to a dying world, and light to the darkness of our existence.

It is easy to lose track of Jesus as we celebrate Christmas. Buried underneath layers of tradition, Christ's birth gets lost. We relegate the event to the distant past and remember it in ways that take faith to grasp who he is, where we find him, and why it matters to us. The truth of the story is that the savior and Lord, Jesus is found in obscure places among people who are considered nobodies. The truth is that he is born into this world for you.

Joseph was righteous. He was faithful. And he was completely stuck. Every option felt like loss. Every path forward felt impossible. He couldn't sleep. He just waited, faithful, afraid, and alone. Matthew 1:18-25 | Isaiah 7:10-16

John the Baptist has announced the coming of the Messiah and called the people to repent and prepare. Sitting in jail, awaiting his fate, he sees none of the things he expected from the Messiah's coming. No conquering armies, no defeat of enemies, no judgment. He asks, "Are you the one, Jesus?" Maybe he got it all wrong. Jesus points to the signs of his reign – the blind see, the deaf hear, the poor receive good news. John was right about Jesus. He just had the wrong expectations.

Our theme for this season is either bold or foolish. In a world beset by violence, war, strife, and division, we declare that peace has dawned. Images of swords fashioned into plows and Paul's declaration that salvation is ever nearer call us to faith in Christ, not faith in a world gone mad. They call us to live anticipating what is promised instead of assuming life is just more of the same.

Jesus sat down at the right hand of God, with the scars still in his hands. What kind of king keeps his wounds? There's something about those scars that reveals who this king really is. Luke 23:33-43 | Jeremiah 23:1-6 | Colossians 1:11-20

SIGNS OF THE TIMES The "signs of the times" can be frightening. Violence, division, warfare, government shutdowns, corporate layoffs leave us reeling. The "signs of the times" can leave us feeling helpless, sure that there is nothing that can be done. The "signs of the times" can make us passive, hoping someone else will deal with the problems. The "signs of the times" are passing away. People of faith are called to live and be "signs of the new age" inaugurated in Christ and his death and resurrection.

A woman marries seven brothers. They all die. The Sadducees think they've created the perfect trap: whose wife will she be in the resurrection? Checkmate, Jesus. Except Jesus isn't playing games. His answer flips everything and invites us to live as children of the resurrection, free from fear's grip. Wrong questions. Right answer. Readings: Job 19:23-27a | Luke 20:27-38

Christians today don't like to think of themselves as "holy." That is reserved for superhero Christians. Perhaps a little false humility or a desire to keep expectations low makes us shrink from claiming our divinity as ones created in the image of God and redeemed by Christ's love. Christians today also don't want to get anywhere near thoughts of death or sadness, even though, in Christ, death has been overcome. That makes the Feast of All Saints hard to celebrate but essentially important. In a world of darkness, the light of God, as it shines in the lives of the Holy Ones of God, is our only hope.

Reformation Sunday isn't a history lesson. It's a mirror. God promised to write on our hearts - and that reformation is still happening. Jeremiah 31:31-34 | Romans 3:19-28 | John 8:31-36

As we observe the Feast of St. Luke it is common to focus on stories of healing. Tradition holds that Luke, the writer of a Gospel that bears his name and the Book of Acts, was a physician. Luke's story of Jesus and the Church, however, is far more than a collection of healing stories. More than the healing of individuals, Luke tells us of how Jesus heals the whole world and sends his followers – the church – to do the same.

There is a lot of discussion and questions about "Christian Nationalism" these days. It is a not a new phenomenon. It happens whenever people mix faith and patriotism into a stew that becomes neither patriotic nor faithful. It probably first appeared when Emperor Constantine won the battle at the Milvian Bridge under a banner with a cross. From that point, using Christ as a tool for political power became part of history. Today, the American version seeks to victimize those we disfavor, call empathy and compassion, diversity, and equity evil. The Word of God, however, will not be chained to any nation or ideal. We are citizens of God's reign, not any country. The healing of one of the enemies of Israel, a citizen of another nation, makes the point.

Habakkuk stands on the city ramparts, watching violence rage below, crying "How long, O Lord?" Centuries later, Jesus' disciples hear impossible commands and plead, "Increase our faith!" Jesus' answer might surprise you: the faith you already have is enough. It's not about your strength — it's about God's.

Today's sermon is based on the Gospel of Luke 16:19-31.   

Confederate bonds seemed like solid investments in 1862 - today they're worth $20 on eBay. Jesus's parable of the dishonest steward reveals which currency will outlast them all.   Luke 16:1-13 | Amos 8:4-7

I don't think I'm alone in being tired of the state of the world. What will address the warfare, violence, hatred, and just general meanness of this world? In a world where power, winning, material success, being number one, are the way we see things and what we strive for, there seems little hope of changing things. On this Holy Cross Day we are reminded that the way of the cross seems foolish in a winner-take-all world, but that foolishness has the power to save.

Being a disciple of Jesus is more than being a member of a church. There are costs to placing Jesus at the center of life to the exclusion of other things. Being a disciple leaves marks, and it begins with the cross affixed to our foreheads in baptism.

A grandfather's coffee cup, a splash of milk, and a kitchen table full of chaos. Sometimes the most profound truths about God's kingdom hide in the most ordinary moments. If you've ever felt like you're scanning the room with your plate in hand, wondering where you belong, turns out your place was never in question. Proverbs 25:6-7a | Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 | Luke 14:1, 7-14  

Keeping the sabbath is often seen as an obligation. In this age, a time-worn, quaint vestige of a more religious culture. For Jesus, sabbath is not an obligation. It is a celebration of the freedom we've been given to be the people God calls us to be instead of filling the roles others give us. To observe Sabbath is to be fully human.

When Jesus announces that he has come to bring fire upon the earth and division to families it is a little off-putting, don't you think? Is he announcing punishment or is there a message of grace and good news buried somewhere in the midst of the perceived threat? We should always be aware that baptism into Christ is a baptism that puts to death the claims of this world and ushers in a radical new way of living. We are marked with the cross of Christ!

What if Jesus isn't guarding the locks but breaking them open—freeing us from the prisons we didn't even know we were defending? Genesis 15:1-6 | Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 | Luke 12:32-40

We build, we store, we cling. But beneath all that effort—what's actually holding you? Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23 | Colossians 3:1-11 | Luke 12:13-21

When Jesus' disciples ask him to teach them to pray, he gives them the Lord's Prayer (or Our Father). He then instructs them with parables that assure them of God's attention and desire to give us what we need (not always what we want?). Prayer is about a relationship with the living God, not getting favors. Throughout scripture we can find God's people asking for things in prayer only to have God answer with something else. God teaches us to pray by example.

When "crazy busy" becomes your default answer to "How are you?", maybe it's time to learn a different way to breathe. What if the story of two sisters arguing is about more than just dinner prep—and what if Jesus' response changes everything about how we serve? Genesis 18:1-10 | Colossians 1:15-28 | Luke 10:38-42

What if eternal life doesn't begin at the destination, but in the ditch? What if the most important part of the journey isn't where you're going—but what interrupts you along the way? Deuteronomy 30:9–14 | Colossians 1:1–14 | Luke 10:25–37

Jesus sends 72 (or 70) workers out to proclaim the peace of the reign of God and its imminent approach. The number is a symbol – Genesis says that there are 72 (or 70) nations in the world. Jesus is sending messengers to the four corners of the earth. There are only a few workers for such an enormous harvest. Times have not changed. As churches close, seminary classes dwindle and volunteers disappear we might wonder our fate as the church. This text is Jesus' reply.