Feast Days

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Pilgrimages, Mountaintop Moments, and the Feast of the Transfiguration

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This past week I returned from England where I was helping lead our youth pilgrimage. We had a wonderful time. We visited London and Canterbury and York and other small towns nearby. It was a wonderful pilgrimage.

 

What is a pilgrimage? Scholars who study pilgrimages say the word is hard to define. There are definitions that cover different aspects, but every definition leaves something out. The scholars say pilgrimage is a rather slippery term. But for today’s purposes, let’s define pilgrimage as a physical journey one takes to a place with the goal, the intention of some sort of spiritual deepening, growth in faith, encounter with the divine, seeking God.

 

Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “read more.”

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The Incarnation and the Resurrection – An Easter Sermon

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All of the Incarnational stuff from Christmas to Good Friday is the first part of what God is doing to reconcile humanity to God. God is going to humanity in its fullness. This is Part I. Today is the beginning of Part II, the Resurrection.

Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon for Easter Day by clicking “Read More.”

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A Rose By Any Other Name? A Reflection of the Feast of the Holy Name

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The second thing we are commemorating on this day is an idea, a concept about names. When you make a Feast Day for a name, it suggests that names matter. “What’s in a name”, Juliet said from the balcony. “That which we call a rose by any other name would be as sweet,” suggesting that names do not matter. But of course the rest of Shakespeare’s play reminds us that names very much do matter, with rather tragic consequences sometimes when we ignore the importance and the power of a name.

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Imagine

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Imagine you are in Palestine when Jesus was proclaiming the Good News. You are not in one of the cities or large towns. You most likely haven’t ever seen a king or a Caesar. You know the stories of King David and King Solomon. They were heroic men, but flawed. In their kingdoms there was suffering and hunger, greed and deceit. One day, a stranger comes to your village and there’s much talk about it, about his teachings and his deeds. You go to the synagogue in curiosity, and you hear him teach about the kingdom of God. It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened. And you leave the synagogue perplexed at its meaning.

Listen to or read more by clicking “Read More.”

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The Hope To Which We Have Been Called

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In his letter to the Ephesians Paul prays that the “God of our Lord Jesus Christ may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.“ What is that hope to which we’ve been called? For that matter, what is hope?

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Active, Courageous, Present – The Faith of Mary

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There is a theological concept called the Missio Dei. It is a Latin term and means the mission of God. It is a theological idea that we, the church and members of the church, do not have a mission in this world. This goes against everything we learn about corporate culture that defines an organization’s mission. We have no mission in the world. God has a mission and we can choose to join it or not.

Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon for Mary Sunday by clicking “Read More.”

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