Woodhaven Presbyterian Podcast

Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time — June 21, 2009
Mark 4: 35-41

They seemed to trust him.  They the disciples had been with Jesus for a while, now.  They had seen him heal people from different diseases even on the Sabbath day when such a move was risky.  They had listened to Jesus’ teachings about the reign of God; messages usually hidden a bit through parable. “The Kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground;” “The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed…”  “Listen!  A sower went out to sow.”  The disciples had been present for all of those illustrative sermons.  And in addition, Mark goes out of his way to tell us that Jesus had also taken the disciples aside and explained in private what he meant through his parables.  In Mark, Jesus wanted the disciples to have a clearer understanding of who he was and who he was calling them to be as his followers. 

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

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Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner
June 14, 2009
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mark 4: 1-2, 26-29

More than likely, many of those gathered by the sea that day to listen to Jesus, were people who worked the soil.  Sowing and tilling and harvesting were common every day experiences for most, if not all, of those who gathered to hear the teachings of the new rabbi.  And working with the earth was probably part of Jesus’ own life, too.  While we assume that Jesus spent time learning the trade of carpentry from his father, Joseph, we can also imagine that he spent time getting dirt under his fingernails as he tended a garden.  It is not hard to make that leap.  After all Jesus tells us parable after parable using agricultural imagery.  He was obviously familiar with what one needed to do in order to get things to grow.  He was obviously familiar with the time and the energy that it took to prepare the ground for planting as well as the work that was involved with harvesting the results of your labor.  Jesus’ knowledge – the crowd’s knowledge – of working the soil is why the parable I read was rather startling.  I am sure that those who were listening scratched their heads and wondered if they had heard Jesus correctly.

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

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Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner
Trinity Sunday – June 7, 2009
Psalm 29, John 3:1-9, Romans 8:12-17

“How can these things be?”  That was the question that Nicodemus asked Jesus after Jesus spoke of the necessity of being born from above.  “How can these things be?”  And that was also my question that formed on my lips as I realized that today was Trinity Sunday.  “Oh, how can these things be?”

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

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Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner
May 31, 2009
Acts 2:1-12/ Romans 8:18-27

Today is the Festival of Pentecost. The day when we celebrate the birthday of the church. The day when we remember how God’s wild Spirit blew into that room in Jerusalem, just as Jesus had promised it would.  And that wild Spirit filled all who had gathered with proclamation and with energy. And then it caused all those people to become preachers and they all began to speak in a myriad of languages. And people outside the house were drawn to that cacophony of Spirit to see what was going on. And through those foreign tongues, those Spirit-infused disciples began to spread the news of God’s goodness running loose in the world. And God’s living body, the Church, was birthed into this creation on that day. And like when a stone is thrown into a lake, the concentric circles of God’s redemptive activity have been getting wider and wider ever since.

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

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Rev. Julie Riley
Seventh Sunday in Easter
Ascension Sunday
May 24, 2009
Acts 1:1-11

Last Thursday was the date that the church officially celebrated the ascension of Jesus Christ, exactly 40 days after Easter as it is described in Acts, as Alan read for us. But if you are like me or most of the world the feast of the ascension went largely unnoticed. There were no ascension parties to plan or attend, no special ascension meals to prepare, not even an ascension candle to light. For most of the world, Thursday was like any other day. Somehow the ascension gets lost between the events of Holy Week and the fiery celebration of Pentecost. But I think the ascension deserves a second look, for the ascension of Jesus Christ is no small event.

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

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Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner
Sixth Sunday in Easter – May 17, 2009
The Farewell Discourse in John, specifically John 15:9-17

Our Scripture reading today comes from the middle of Jesus’ farewell speech to the disciples.  This speech highlights a unique feature of John’s Gospel.  In John’s telling of the Jesus story, Jesus wraps up his public ministry in chapter 12, even though the story of his passion does not begin until chapter 18.  Instead, John moves into slow motion to give us glimpses into the private, behind-the scene conversations between Jesus and his followers, as he tried to prepare them for what was to come and his departure from them. 

The scholarly name for the six chapters in between chapter 12 and 18 is “The Farewell Discourse.”  That sounds fancy, doesn’t it!  But I like the way Fred Craddock puts it .  Rev. Craddock likens this scene between Jesus and his disciples to children playing on the floor, who happen to look up and see their parents putting on coats and hats.  Their questions are three:  Where are you going?  Can we go?  Then who is going to stay with us?”  We hear all three of those concerns in this long goodbye conversation between Jesus and his disciples: “Lord, where are you going?” Thomas asks … “Why can I not follow you now?” asks Peter… “I will not leave you orphaned,” promises Jesus.   

(…excerpt from podcast)
 

 

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Daniel W. Klein & Peter Buhmann
5th Sunday in Easter - May 10, 2009
John 15: 1-8

Peter and I are businessmen. We provide products or services for our customers. We’re good at what we do. In our work, in order to be successful, we must be productive.

Most of us – no matter what our vocation – are called to be increasingly productive, right?

“Do more with less,” is today’s mantra – whether its work, or school, or taking care of the house. Businesses constantly measure productivity. Nations compare worker productivity. Maybe it started with Henry Ford’s production line, but probably much, much earlier – how to be increasingly productive. We have numerous tools to increase our productivity – many of them high tech, like computers, Blackberrys, cell phones, e-mail – and some of us still cling to lower tech, like Daytimers and other calendars, to-do lists on yellow pads. Even our kids are overscheduled to maximize productivity, team sports, dance class, Scouts, perhaps a job, and always killer homework.

Most of us are on duty all the time, 24/7. Not particularly enjoying it, but definitely – productive.

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

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Rev. Julie Riley
Fourth Sunday of Easter – May 3, 2009
Psalm 23, John 10:11-18, I John 3:16-24

Psalm 23 is a psalm of comfort for Jews and Christians alike. In a relatively few words the psalm paints a beautiful picture of God’s very personal, very intimate, love for each of us and God’s nurture and protection for all of us for all the days of our lives –from the days of our youth until the days in which we rest in God’s everlasting arms.

The Gospel of John paints a companion picture to the psalm as he depicts Jesus as the Good Shepherd. While the colors of this picture may not be quite as soothing as the one from the 23rd Psalm it nevertheless offers vivid details of the shepherd. As we look at these pictures side-by-side we can see how Jesus embodies the shepherd from the psalm, and if we look back at the painting of the psalm it is almost as if we can see the face of Jesus there on the shepherd. Together these two paintings give us a fuller picture of God’s everlasting love.

But then 1st John adds yet a third picture to the gallery and at first glance this third picture is not soothing at all. In fact it is anything but soothing.

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

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Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner
3rd Sunday in Easter - April 26, 2009
Luke 24:36b-48

Does doubt seem out of place to you in the season of Easter?  Do honest fear or grief-soaked tears feel out of place in the middle of sung Alleluias and shouts of “He is Risen?”  Those questions might sound odd, but I think many of us wonder about it.  Because we are in the still in the season of Eastertide – the season of proclaimed joy and hope.  We are still singing Easter hymns and special responses of praise.  The colors in the sanctuary are still white and gold, the colors of resurrection new life.

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

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Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner
Easter Sunday - April 12, 2009
Mark 16:1-8

Fear and silence.  This is how the original Gospel of Mark ends.  It ends with women being seized by fear and amazement, running away as quickly as they could from that empty tomb, and not saying one single word to anyone about what they had seen and heard.  Fear and silence make up Mark’s Easter ending.

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

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