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“Home” by Warsan Shire Note: The language in this poem is tough to read and process. Some of the words used are vulgar slang to depict the reality that immigrants face. We need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable in order to be transformed. no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of Continue reading …
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August 1, 2021 Rev. Mark Seifried online Love Unexpressed Matthew 5:4 His wife died a difficult death, protracted over months. I don’t want to focus on her disease and death, though. I want to focus on what happened with Grandpa before and after Grandma’s death. I should share a bit of background: Grandpa began his Continue reading …
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August 22, 2021 Rev. Mark Seifried online Mercy Matthew 5:7 The Talmud, which is a primary source for rabbinical teaching and Jewish law, has a great little story known as “the Wounded Healer.” It goes something like this:[1] There once was a rabbi who wanted to know when the Messiah would come and how he Continue reading …
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August 15, 2021 Rev. Mark Seifried online Righteousness Matthew 5:6 I am often asked how and why I shifted from being a professional chef and running restaurants to becoming a minister only to work for an unstable institution which feels like it’s in free-fall. The institution to which I am referring is the church, by Continue reading …
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July 18, 2021 Rev. Mark Seifried online Walk the Walk and Talk the Talk Psalm 78:1-8 Lewis Carroll was so wise when writing his masterpiece Alice in Wonderland. I’m thinking about an exchange between Alice and the Cat. Alice remarked to the Cat, “But I don’t want to go among mad people,” “Oh, you can’t Continue reading …
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July 25, 2021 Rev. Mark Seifried online Poor In Spirit Matthew 5:3 When Christopher Reeve, the actor who once played Superman, was in the hospital after the accident that left him paralyzed, comedian Robin Williams burst into his room wearing hospital scrubs and announcing in a Russian accent that he was a proctologist and needed Continue reading …
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July 11, 2021 Rev. Mark Seifried online Thy Will Matthew 6:1-15, 19-21 When I was in seminary, I was required to write an ordination paper for a United Church of Christ History and Polity class. The paper was supposed to chart my spiritual journey from the cradle to that moment in time. We were also Continue reading …
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June 27, 2021 Rev. Mark Seifried online Taking Inventory John 21:15-19 The Book of Wisdom, which is found in what is known as the Apocrypha of the Bible, is rich with poetic imagery and contains beautiful images of God. Take, for example, this passage from Chapter 11 that references the love of God: Yes, you Continue reading …
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June 20, 2021 Rev. Mark Seifried online Liberating Encounters Proverbs 25:11-20 During his funeral, a dead man suddenly came to life and began to pound on the lid of the coffin in which he had been laid. The lid was raised; the man sat up and asked the assembled crowd, “What are you doing? I Continue reading …
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June 13, 2021 Rev. Mark Seifried online Making Amends Matthew 5:21-26 Jesus levels the playing field for us this morning. He tells us that broken is broken, that fractured relationships are an affront to the God of love. He tells us that our anger carries the same spiritual weight as murder. He tells us that Continue reading …