Father Nissen's sermon, September 28

The sermon today is based on the New Testament reading, which is the epistle of Paul to the Phillipians, chapter 2, verses 1 - 13.

St. Paul talks of Jesus' emptying, laying aside his god privileges and dying the death of the cross. Jesus limited himself and did not try to escape death.

This theme of limitation applies also to the whole creation and to ourselves. These are not all of the miracles in the universe. We have natural ordered days along with some tragedies and difficulties. In doing this God shows us that we have responsibility in making this world a better place, which means we have a great self-worth and are blessed with reason and knowledge to solve problems, including global warming. We also need to limit ourselves in relation to each other. It is not "me and Jesus" bu "US and Jesus."

How we relate to one another is the essence of the renewal of the church. Creating healthy communities where people can find healing, assurance, forgiveness, and peace in their lives. This is the challenge of our day!

Father Nissen's message of September 21

The Gospel reading for the day is Matthew 20: 1 - 16.

This parable really can catch our attention.  This teaching can even be frustrating.

It was harvest time, and the landowner went to town to hire workers early in the day.  It was a bigger job than he first thought, so he went back to hire workers again at 9:00 am, at noon, at 3:00 pm and even at 5:00 pm.  The he did the most unusual thing: he paid everyone the same wage--even those who worked only a short time at the end of the day.

The central thought is God is generous.  And if God is generous, then we should be, too, especially with our attitude toward others.  We may think that others have it better in life than we do.  But should stop and evaluate: we too in our struggles have been given much.

So may we contineu to share Jesus' message to others, knowing that all are welcome and that the most unilikely people are the greatest asset to the church!