Preface to today’s message: Today is Reformation Sunday. This is a day we usually celebrate in the Lutheran Church as we remember how Martin Luther brought something new to the table and emphasized God’s amazing grace for all creation. Today, a little later in this service, the message is going to be rather playful and […]
Sermon Mark 10:35-45; 22nd Pentecost – October 21, 2018
We are living in quite amazing times. Technology has gotten us to the point where we don’t have to leave the comfort of our home in order to connect with others, or to explore the world. Social networking often happens over the computer screen; the best seats in the house when watching sports these […]
Sermon Mark 10:17-31; 21st Pentecost – October 14, 2018
“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Countless people all over the world and of many different religions have wrestled with this question. The premise is that there must be a heaven, an afterlife, eternal life, something that we can look forward to as we live our lives here on earth […]
‘Wunderbar together’ – Pr. Kerstin Weidmann’s invocation at the United German-American Associations of the San Francisco Bay Area Banquet October 7th, 2018
Last Wednesday, October 3rd, didn’t only mark the 28th anniversary of the German Reunification; that day also marked the beginning of the ‘German-American Year’ a special year of commemoration of U.S.- German relationships. The motto for this year is, ‘Wunderbar Together’. I personally think it’s a great motto; many non-German speakers know what ‘wunderbar’ […]
Sermon Matthew 6: 25-35; Erntedank/Thanksgiving for the Harvest – October 7th, 2018
Whenever I hear today’s gospel lesson (Jesus saying, ‘Don’t worry what you shall eat and drink and what you shall wear’), I am reminded of a certain tune that then I can’t get out of my head again: ‘Don’t worry, be happy’ by Bobby McFerrin. Anyone here who’s never ever heard that song? […]
Sermon Mark 9:38-50; 19th Pentecost – September 30, 2018
You may wonder what the attached picture is about. It’s a little hard to see, but it’s a picture of a clay tablet with an ancient writing called cuneiform (which means ‘wedge-shaped’), that was used in ancient Babylon. This particular tablet was written about 1,750 BCE during the Bronze Age – that’s roughly 3,750 […]
Sermon Mark 9:30-37; 18th Sunday after Pentecost – September 23rd, 2018
When my son Jonathan was in the 7th grade, he didn’t necessarily choose his elective classes in school according to his skills and interests. No, one of his electives that year was 3 D Art, a class he chose because one of his best friends was taking it. When Jonathan first told me about it, […]
Sermon Mark 8:27-38; 17th Sunday after Pentecost – September 16th, 2018
‘Follow the Leader’ My husband is a big Bob Dylan fan, so we hear Dylan’s music quite a bit in our house. Not that I am the greatest fan, but Dylan’s lyrics, more often than not, make me think. No wonder he was an icon of the 60s, and his early […]
Sermon James 1:17-27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23; 15th Sunday after Pentecost – September 2nd, 2018
Can you believe it’s almost Labor Day again? Labor Day traditionally signifies the end of summer, although, according to the calendar, we still have a couple of weeks of summer left. For many students, school has started again – or will start after this weekend. Good-bye to the carelessness of summer, hello again to […]
Sermon John 6: 56-69; 14th Sunday after Pentecost – August 26th, 2018
‘Light of the World’ Music and words by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson I am just a stranger, in a promised land I am only learning a game with the rules I don’t understand Going round in circles, I’ve been round before I am lost in so many ways, I can walk no more […]
Sermon John 6:22-35; 11th Sunday after Pentecost – August 5th, 2018
Over the next Sundays, you will hear a lot about the Jesus Christ, the bread of life. I have to admit that I am relieved that I don’t have to preach 4 times on this subject matter, because talking so much about bread would go stale quickly – pun intended. The next two Sundays, […]
Sermon John 6:1-21; 10th Sunday after Pentecost – July 29th, 2018
After the feeding… Today’s gospel story is very dense, very complex – there is a lot happening. But the central story of the feeding of the 5,000 stands out. What a spectacular event, what a miracle! And I could preach something you might have heard before: Jesus Christ has the power to satisfy our […]
Sermon Mary Magdalene Feast Day; John 20: 1-2, 11-18 – July 22nd, 2018
It’s been 15 years now that a book by Dan Brown was a smash sensation. Do you remember this book? It is the ‘Da Vinci Code’. Has anyone here ever read it? I have to admit that I gobbled it up. I like good stories, and this IS a good story – […]
Sermon Mark 6:14-29; 8th Pentecost – July 15, 2018
An Inconvenient Truth In the gospel stories we heard over the course of the last weeks, Jesus more often than not challenges and even upsets those around him. A Greek word that is used repeatedly in those stories is ‘skandalon’, from which our word ‘scandalous’ derives. Jesus causes quite a few ‘skandalons’, quite a […]
Sermon Mark 6:1-13; 7th Sunday after Pentecost – July 8th, 2018
Just a couple of days ago, we celebrated the 4th of July, the day on which, in the year 1776, the Declaration of Independence from British Rule was ratified. Have you ever read the Declaration of Independence? I admit I just did in preparation for this sermon. And I’m glad I did, because I […]
Sermon Mark 5:21-43; 6th Sunday after Pentecost – July 1st, 2018
A couple of weeks ago, the news broke that Anthony Bourdain, a renowned chef, author, and host of television shows like ‘No Reservations’ and ‘Parts Unknown’, had committed suicide. Has anyone here watched any of his shows? My husband and I loved to explore the world with Bourdain. And for us as pastors, for […]
Sermon Mark 4:35-41; 5th Sunday after Pentecost – June 24th, 2018
And Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let’s go across to the other side.’ But before we travel with Jesus and the disciples to that ‘other side’, let’s quickly recall what happened on ‘this side’, which is the west side of the Sea of Galilee, the territory called Galilee, which includes Jesus’ hometown, Nazareth. Some […]
Sermon Mark 4:26-34; 4th Sunday after Pentecost – June 17th, 2018
Today is June 17th. For many Germans, who are a bit older – which includes people like me and most of you – this day holds a special significance. From 1954 until 1990, June 17th was the Western German National holiday, called the ‘Day of German Unity’, ‘Tag der deutschen Einheit’. Now everyone who […]
Sermon Mark 3:20-35; 2nd Sunday after Pentecost – June 10th, 2018
A couple of weeks ago, a quite curious court case made the headlines: a couple in upstate New York sued their 30 year-old unemployed son to move out of their house. They had asked him repeatedly to pack his things and leave, become independent, to get a job and a life, but […]
Sermon Romans 8:12-17; Holy Trinity Sunday- May 27th, 2018
One, two, three, one, two three… This is a special rhythm. The technical musical term is three quarter time; the most famous dance to this rhythm has become known as the waltz. But even before the waltz became fashionable at the court in Vienna in the late 18th century, it was a favorite among […]