This day, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of the Lenten season, which lasts for about seven weeks until Good Friday. In Christian tradition, Lent is a time of reflection, of repentance, and fasting. It is a time to reflect on the suffering and death of Jesus Christ – and we begin this season with […]
Institution oder Bewegung? Predigt zu Markus 9, 2-13 – Verklärung unseres Herrn; 14. Februar 2021 (auf Englisch)
Today’s gospel lesson is quite spectacular: Peter, James, and John witness how Jesus, their rabbi, son of a simple carpenter in the remote outpost of Nazareth, is transfigured, transformed before their eyes on the mountaintop. His face shines like the sun, his clothes, soiled from the long travel on the road, become dazzling […]
Nehmen und Geben: Predigt zu Markus 1, 29-39 – 5. Sonntag nach Epiphanias; 7. Februar 2021 (auf Englisch)
You may have heard that there was a controversy about the choice of Time Magazine’s ‘Person / Persons of the Year’ 2020. Time Magazine chose to put then President elect Joe Biden and Vice-President elect Kamala Harris on the cover and declare them ‘Persons of the Year’. Which is not an unusual choice: Donald […]
‘Den Mut zu haben, Licht zu sein’: Predigt zu Markus 1, 14-20; 3. Sonntag nach Epiphanias – 24. Januar 2021 (auf Englisch)
‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent, and believe in the good news!’ These are the very first words that Jesus is reported saying in the gospel according to Mark. We hear about Jesus in the verses leading up to today’s gospel story – and it has to […]
Blinde Flecken: Predigt zu 1. Samuel 3, 1-10 und Johannes 1, 35-42; 2. Sonntag nach Epiphanias – 17. Januar 2021 (auf Englisch)
The Bible is full of interesting and multi-layered characters. The vast majority of them are not perfect – they are all human, after all, so why would they be? And wouldn’t perfection be boring? At least when it comes to storytelling? I am grabbed by one of the characters of our lesson from the […]
Raus aus dem Wasser, rein in die Welt: Predigt zu Markus 1, 4-11; 1. Sonntag nach Epiphanias / Taufe unseres Herrn – 10. Januar 2021 (auf Englisch)
The Jordan River is not one of the mighty rivers of this world. Compared to other rivers, it is tiny: it’s merely 156 miles long and 60 feet across at its widest. It’s fairly shallow: its deepest point is about 17 feet. It’s never been navigable. It is formed by tributaries in the mountains […]
“Bitte folgen Sie der Umleitung”: Predigt zu Matthäus 2, 1-12; 2. Sonntag nach Weihnachten / Epiphanias – 3. Januar 2021 (auf Englisch)
I want you to think back exactly one year, to the beginning of January 2020. What were your expectations for that year? What were your plans for that brand new year? I remember that, in January 2020, my husband Fred and I were seriously planning a trip to Spain, which was supposed to happen […]
Ehre sei Gott in der Tiefe! Predigt zu Lukas 2, 1-20; Heiligabend – 24. Dezember 2020
Seit 23 Jahren schicken mir gute Freundinnen aus Deutschland immer einen Adventskalender der ganz besonderen Art: ‘Der Andere Advent’, der für jeden Tag in der Advents- und Weihnachtszeit einen Text, ein Bild, einen Impuls bietet. Manche von Euch und Ihnen kennen diesen Kalender vielleicht. Dieses Jahr hat es mir eine Reflektion in diesem Kalender […]
‘Maria wusste Bescheid’: Predigt zu Lukas 1, 26-38; 4. Advent – 20. Dezember 2020 (auf Englisch)
This is the season of holiday songs. There are certain radio stations here in the Bay Area that have played nothing but holiday songs for weeks now. What is your favorite Christmas song – or carol? That may be a tough question – I have to think hard about it, there are so many […]
Fortsetzung folgt: Predigt zu Markus 1, 1-8; 2. Advent / Nikolaustag – 6. Dezember 2020 (auf Englisch)
The gospel according to Mark stands out among the gospel accounts we have in our Bible. It is the one gospel story that cuts right to the chase. No mention of Mary and Joseph or any other of Jesus’ relatives, no birth story, no stories from Jesus’ childhood – no, after a one sentence […]
‘Sind wir bald da?’ Predigt zu Markus 13, 24-37; 1. Advent – 29. November 2020 (auf Englisch)
I love the Advent season. It’s my favorite church season of the year. Always has been. When I was a child, Advent was this time of joyful and festive anticipation, a time of excited waiting. It was the countdown to Christmas! There would be decorations and lights everywhere as the days were […]
‘Riskantes Geschäft’: Predigt zu Matthäus 25, 14-30; 23. Sonntag nach Trinitatis – 15. November 2020 (auf Englisch)
Today, I want to tell you a story about hope, faith, and love. Years ago, in my previous congregation, a young woman came in during office hours. I could tell she was agitated, even desperate. And so we sat down, and she started talking. ‘My car broke down, and I need […]
“Apocalypse Now”: Predigt zu Matthäus 25, 1-13; 22. Sonntag nach Trinitatis – 8. November 2020 (auf Englisch)
‘Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?’ We heard these words just a few moments ago. They come from the book of Amos, one of the prophets in the Old Testament, and those are not necessarily words I would choose as words of comfort, […]
“Ob man vor dem Sterben fliehen möge”; Monolog am Reformationssonntag, 1. November 2020 (auf Englisch)
Katie Luther enters with a rag covering her face and some smoking herbs in her hand. She tiredly takes the face covering off and starts her monologue. Ah, dear people! What times we live in! The plague is back in town. People are getting sick, people are dying. All we can do is try […]
‘Wie wär’s mit Liebe?’ Predigt zu Matthäus 22, 34-40; 20. Sonntag nach Trinitatis – 25. Oktober 2020 (auf Englisch)
Years ago, I was part of a pastoral team at a congregation in the South Bay. And in that congregation was one particular woman who adored my colleague, but just wouldn’t warm up to me. Which is kind of normal – we all have people we just don’t click with. Whenever I preached on […]
‘Dies ist Gottes Welt’: Predigt zu Matthäus 22, 15-22; 19. Sonntag nach Trinitatis – 18. Oktober 2020 (auf Englisch)
‘It is God’s world after all’ In the early 60s, Walt Disney manufactured an attraction for the 1964 World Fair in New York with the working title ‘Children of the World’. He tasked the famous Sherman brothers to write a song especially for this attraction – and to come up with a simple […]
‘Der Wal und das Ende der Welt’: Predigt zu Lukas 12, 15-21; Erntedank – 4. Oktober 2020 (auf Englisch)
I just finished reading a book, and it was one of the best books I’ve read in a while. This book isn’t just entertaining and a page turner, no, it made me think, it surprised me, it even made me cry a little – but mostly, it gave me hope. This book it called […]
‘Das ist so unfair!’ Predigt zu Matthäus 20, 1-16; 15. Sonntag nach Trinitatis – 20. September 2020 (auf Englisch)
I want to share a personal story with you that happened when I was in the second grade. I always loved to read, I started reading even before I entered elementary school, and I was the best reader in the classroom – together with Stefan Lohwasser, he loved to read as much as I […]
77 Mal: Predigt zu Matthäus 18, 21-35 – 14. Sonntag nach Trinintatis; 13. September 2020 (auf Englisch)
I don’t know about you, but for me, one day blurs into another as we continue to deal with the pandemic. And I often have to remind myself: what day is it now? But this past week, one date stood out, and I’m sure not only for me: 9/11. 9/11. This date has become […]
‘Lasst uns mal reden!’ Predigt zu Matthäus 18, 15-20 -13. Sonntag nach Trinitatis; 6. September 2020 (auf Englisch)
As you may know, I recently got back from a three week stay in Germany. And though the primary reason for my trip was to visit with my ailing mom, and I still worked while in Germany, and Germany is dealing with a surge of Corona cases (though I have to say that Germany’s […]