Fries Memorial Moravian Church

This Memorial Day, let us remember not just those who have given the last full measure of devotion for our nation, but those who actively serve in harm’s way on our behalf.

Isaiah 6:1-8, Romans 8:12-17, John 3:1-17

One of my favorite actors is Paul Newman, and one of my favorite movies is, “Cool Hand Luke.” Luke was sent to prison for getting drunk and cutting the heads off parking meters. He should have been out pretty quickly, but he had problems with authority and he took on his fellow prisoners, the guards, and the road boss. The most famous line in that movie first spoken by the road boss. Looking down on Luke–after knocking him down, he says, “What we have here is failure to communicate.”

The Bible is all about communication. Seen as a whole, the Bible is not a monologue but a dialogue. We speak to God, and God speaks to us.

For instance, in the Psalms, humankind makes its case with God, sometimes praising the LORD and sometimes pleading with the LORD. The prophets speak to God on behalf of the people and they speak to the people on behalf of God. They often preface their speeches with the phrase, “Thus says the LORD.” Continue reading →

Ephesians 1: 15-23, Luke 24: 44-53, Acts 1:1-11

You may have noticed that we altered the order of the readings this afternoon, putting the gospel lesson before the lesson from Acts. This is the natural order of things, especially since Luke-Acts form two-volumes of a single work. According to tradition, both were written by Luke, the beloved physician, a companion of Paul on many of his missionary journeys. And both are addressed to Theophilus, which, translated from the Greek means “God-lover.” Theophilus may or may not have been a single individual. Even if he was, he certainly stands for all God lovers, whenever and wherever they have lived. Continue reading →

The oldest mother at Fries Memorial! Older than you think, too!

On certain Sundays, it seems wise to focus on the day rather than on the lectionary, and Mother’s Day is certainly one of those Sundays. Still, given the gospel lesson, it is easy to pick a text to go with the day.

Jesus said, “Greater love hath no one than this, that one lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Just a couple of weeks ago, we saw that though some people, like Jesus, James, Peter and Paul, the martyrs of the church in all ages, and soldiers of all nations, lay down their lives for their friends “all at once,” most people lay down their lives for others, little by little, here a little, there a little. Though all of us like to believe that our mother would gladly have laid down her life in order to preserve ours, the truth is, that our mothers laid down their lives for us a little at a time. Continue reading →