2026 Selected Sermons | The Lutheran Church

2026 SELECTED SERMONS

Unbind him! Let him go!

Interim Lay Minister John Prosen's Sermon - March 22, 2026

I really like living in God's spirit. The second reading calls us to that.

In the last three weeks, we have had long gospel narratives. We read them

in a unique way. Part of that is because it allows us to better tolerate it.

And, part of it is that it's a story & it's truly a narrative.

The first was the woman at the well. Jesus interacts with a Samaritan woman in the longest narrative that exists in the gospels. Samaritans are kind of separated from the Jews. She's kind of separated from the Samaritans. It's a unique situation.

Last week, a man is given sight. Jesus interacts with this man, then wanders off, & the man has to defend himself. He even defends Jesus between the higher ups & the people of the community who doubt. Then Jesus kind of wanders back in the end. This text is very different in two ways.

Knowing about someone's life & having insight, to give sight to the blind, is pretty powerful prophecy. Raising someone from the dead, I think, goes a little further. But, there's something else that's unique here.

When Lazarus is ill, word is sent to Jesus, who then sits down for two days. There's a line in there. “This will be an opportunity for people to see the glory of God.”

Now, I cannot speak. I would not profess that I could. The words don't exist. I can't speak for God, & I can't speak for Jesus. But the way we read this text, I hear, “They didn't believe when I soar into their souls. They didn't believe when I gave sight to the blind. Maybe, they'll believe if I raise the dead. So let's just sit here for a couple days.”

Now, there’s an interesting thing later in the text, “Lord, it's been four days, there'll be a stench.” Within the Jewish belief & tradition system, the soul didn't leave the body for the first three days. So, that fourth day, they're really dead.

The community has come together with Martha & Mary to mourn. They're sitting Shiva. They're sitting there, mourning with them. They come & they wail with those who are mourning to support them, to support the soul of this lost person.

Jesus goes here in a public place. Martha says, “I know the Lord will listen to you.”Jesus prays out loud, so the people can hear him petitioning God for Lazarus to be risen. This is probably the most public witness we have.

It's not someone who had their sight given, or someone who's had their soul examined, who then goes & tells people about it. This is Jesus, in the presence of people, saying, “Sit here, hear my words, watch what happens!” Then by the grace of God, which is far stronger than the weight of a stone, this grave is opened & a man arises who was dead.

Lazarus is not given eternal life, but he's raised from the dead publicly, so that we can see & witness, that this is not merely some rather profound prophet, not somebody who's working magic, but this man is of God.

And this is seen in a way so powerful, because everyone's witnessing it. It's not a story they've only heard.

I think this is very relatable to us because, to be quite honest, we’re gathered here today since we’ve heard the story. Someone lifted up the good news of the death & resurrection of Jesus Christ, somewhere in your life. That's why you're here today. Because, we weren't at the tomb. We didn't actually see it, did we? Did we?

Some of us aren't willing to see it yet, but most of us have. At some moment, whether it be tragedy or celebration, probably, in your life, you have witnessed a miracle. We just really have a hard time acknowledging it. But, the truth is, if we allow ourselves to be open in faith, we will realize that the miracles of then are the miracles now, & that miracles happen in our lives, that God is present with us.

We struggle with it. I struggle with it. Sometimes, it doesn't look the way we want it to look. I really believe that. The presence of God in my life has not always looked like it was supposed to look. That's probably why I didn't realize it was there.

In some cases, it's taken me a long time to realize that I was right there, & I missed it.

I was in the presence of God & I was distracted, or blind. But, that's the great thing about God's grace. I'm here today & I know that he was there then. In a time of brokenness or pain, he was there.

I look back & say, “How did I make it through that?” He was there. It's so weird to recognize the presence of God in my life, after the fact. I guess I have to pray on that.

I don't think I'm unique. I don't think I'm unique in the fact that I don't always see God in my life. I don't think I'm unique in the fact that my life was so distracting I didn't allow God to show himself to me.

There's something that happens at the end of this text I’ve read so many times, & I'm afraid of it this morning. “Unbind him. Let him go.” In my life, that's sometimes one of the hardest things to do.

Whatever it is, whatever it is that's holding me. Whatever that's separating me from what I truly believe, to how I'm living my life, is my ability to “unbind him and let him go.” In this context, there's a mourning going on. We see this man who's been wrapped in these cloths. He's been brought back to life, so we need to unbind him.

What does that mean for us, as we mourn what we've lost in our lives? Is it a mourning that allows us to grieve & go through what we need to go through, so we can be stronger & move on? Or, is it a mourning that‘s anchored us in our pain & our grief? It’s there we need to hear those words of Jesus. “Unbind him. Let him go.”

If we live our lives each and every day, if we gather here together, professing we believe in the death & resurrection of Jesus Christ, if we believe in the eternal life beyond this mortal life; because of that death and resurrection, our relationship with God, all that is promised us, all that we profess, if we believe this, it allows us to unbind and let go. Unbind of the burden of worry. Unbind of the burden of grief.

Unbind yourself! Unbind yourself, so you might live in the glory of God, promised to you. “Martha, I am the resurrection!”

We live on this side of the Easter cross & we live in the glory of God with a resurrected Christ. It is empty. I know we will go into Holy Week & we will appreciate the depth of what happens during the Passion. But, the truth is: it's 2026. Christ is risen. He is risen so that you might rise up from the tomb. In his resurrection, you are reborn.

You are raised up! Unbind yourself from anything that would hold you in that darkness.

We are in the last weekend, the last few days of Lent. It’s a time of reflection for many people, a time of quiet thought and prayer. It’s a time we prepare ourselves for that glorious resurrection. That is where we live.

We are not in the dark. We are walking in those 12 hours of light every day. Celebrate it! Enjoy it! Unbind yourself from whatever your burdens are, so you may live in the glory of Christ. Amen.

Lay Minister John Prosen's sermon, March 8, 2026

Readings: Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42

Pray for me that whenever I speak, words may be given to me so I may make known

the mysteries of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.

Pray that I do so fearlessly, amen.

I had a restless night. It wasn't the time change, it was something else.

My routine is to get up quite early on Sunday mornings. And I had this thought on my mind. Confession.

It's not there in the gospel. It's not in the Old Testament reading. It's not in the New Testament reading.

But I woke up with this thought on my mind. Confession. I got cleaned up, I sat at my desk, I prayed a little, and I looked over

my notes that I had been putting together for this week. And, I thought about this story of Jesus with this woman, the woman

at the well, a Samaritan. Samaritans, well, are they Jewish or aren't they? Maybe they're reformed, but they're not good Jews.

So they're not recognized by the Jews.

Things have happened, people have moved in, people have been put into exile, and they don't necessarily follow the rules.

They don't worship the right way. They intermarry. So, to a true Orthodox Jew, they're not Jewish.

Now, there's a woman in the middle of the day who's at a well. The women of the town would generally fetch water, but they would do it early in the day, or late in the day, not in the middle of the day. They would come in a group, yet she comes alone. This woman is obviously not really welcomed in her own community.

Jesus, Rabbi, called by some, would not be in a conversation with an unaccompanied woman, if a woman at all. So there are a whole lot of things that don't fit in this story. There's a polite response when the disciples get back. There's that interesting question, “What do you want?,” as if they're not asking Jesus, they're thinking, “What does this woman want with Jesus?” and “Why would Jesus be talking to her?” Because most of them know the rules. This entire scenario doesn't fit. It doesn't work.

But, what's really incredible about this Gospel text is this dialogue between the woman and Jesus. It's actually the longest dialogue that exists in any of our Gospels.

I'm glad it was Martin's idea to read this as a dialogue, which really suits it very well. Interesting enough, this morning Linda made reference to the fact that I kind of hear an attitude in this woman. It's like, “Who are you to ask me for water?” I wonder if that's what it was like. [Martin & Linda were the other readers of the gospel]

But (back to) reading my notes (early) this morning, & thinking about this whole story, this woman by the well, and Jesus. Somehow, this thing, “confession,” is in my head, and it doesn't fit, until I realize, Jesus tells this woman who she is, & knows her secrets. Jesus knows why she's there in the middle of the day, by herself. She doesn't confess it. He knows.

So if Jesus knows, without her confession, then why do we confess? Jesus already knows, but we need to hear it. We need to say it.

It is not for God's ears, but we need to acknowledge to ourselves, that something’s gone sideways, that I've done it wrong. We need to hear our confession. God's forgiveness & grace were there before we spoke.

But we can't necessarily receive it until we realize why we need it. That's what it takes.

I grew up in a Roman Catholic practice. I wasn't a good Catholic. My family wasn't very Catholic. But I grew up with an Irish Catholic mom, and this is what you did.

I realized this morning, some of the times I lied that were probably the most offensive, were when I went to confession as a kid. You had to go to confession before you went to church. It was a rite, it was a passage, it was something you had to do. Saturday you had to go to church & go to confession. So I got to go, & there's a little curtain, you go in, & there's a guy in the booth. I don't even know who it is, & I'm supposed to tell him my sins. “I got mad at my parents & I didn't obey them, I wasn't friendly with my sister, I took her toys, & I used God's name in vain.”

I probably confessed that every week. I don't think I ever confessed that in the middle of the week, when we were at the candy store, I stole candy. I never confessed to that. [Looks up to the ceiling] Sorry.It was a ritual, & I did it. I was supposed to say something.

Years ago, I heard that [Martin] Luther wrote that sometimes he struggled to confess because, in the process of confessing ,he couldn't even remember all of the things he did wrong. He struggled with that.

I can't truly confess all of my sins before God. It's not about your need to have the right list because God has to hear it, God already knows your sins. He knows your brokenness. That's a given. You need to acknowledge your brokenness.

That's how we allow ourselves to receive God's grace. It's part of our human process.

I don't know what you need to confess, but you do, & I don't know that you even need to say it out loud.nYou just acknowledge, “God, I need you! I need you because I can't get it right, & I want to.”

The interesting thing is that moment in time, the beginning of our service on Sunday, or Saturday afternoon in the Roman church in the booth, we need to confess on a regular basis, maybe daily.

Maybe that's the allowing God into our lives. If we were to rise in the morning and say, “God, you know, I tried real hard yesterday. I got a few things wrong. Give me another shot. Be with me today. Maybe I'll get it a little bit better.” If we would do a daily ritual like that.

I drive here in the morning. The timing is just right, & I'm listening to the Roman Catholic radio station [WJMJ, 88.9], & there's a deacon who hosts a morning show, where they talk about stuff. This morning, they were talking about, I think the phrase was, domestic church. I loved the conversation because it was about the church we live in, the church at home. We so easily see & recognize this church. We so easily see that booth as the place I would go to confess. Domestic church is being a living church & living in the church.

Bringing the church into your home. That's where it belongs. That's where it is. Because, if it's rooted in everything we do in life, then God becomes every part of who we are, as we live & share our lives, whether its with our spouses, or our children, or our parents, whoever it is & however it is.

To experience God on a day-to-day basis in everything we do, is to celebrate this glorious grace we have received. We need this. And, it's present, & it's available, & maybe, it starts with confession. But, confession is just an acknowledgement that allows us to be open.

So, maybe we need to hear ourselves say it, or just think it quietly. To open ourselves to God is to acknowledge who we are as God's children.

The process at that well, all those years ago, opened a woman's eyes to something that she knew was promised, but maybe didn't believe would happen. “I've heard there's going to be a Messiah.”

And, there he was. A truth revealed. In a process of sharing a dialogue with God, God was revealed to her, revealed in such a way that she went back to a community, which didn't believe in her, & she told the truth. They listened & they responded. They spent time with Jesus & confessed that, although her testimony may have led them there, their experience living with God had made them believe.

Live your life open to God's grace. Receive it. Share it. Then just live your life open to God's creation. And, they too, will see the light of God in your eyes. Amen.

Confession

Walk with Our Hand in God's Hand

Lay Minister John Prosen's sermon, March 1, 2026

Readings: Genesis 12:1-4; Psalm 121; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17

Pray for me that whenever I speak, words may be given to me so I may make known the mysteries of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I do so fearlessly. Amen.

“And I said to a man who stood at the gate of the year, ‘Give me a light that I might tread safely into the unknown.’

“And he replied, ‘Go into the darkness, put your hand in the hands of God. That should be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

It's from a poem, it's a part of it, “God Knows.” It was written by Minnie Louise Haskin, somewhere around 1900. It came into knowledge, it was a little known poem, but it was recognized much greater when King George III included it in his 1939 Christmas address to England on the radio. His daughter Elizabeth asked that he include it. We know her as Queen Elizabeth II.

In our Old Testament reading, we see a request by God to Abram, to leave it all behind and go into the unknown. And, we all know the result of that, a great world that exists. Abraham, our father, one who is fathered many nations, two religions, maybe three, depending on how you look at it.

And, out of that is turmoil and brokenness, because these worlds that rise out of this, and these religions that exist, don't seem to give answers that are needed to satisfy this broken human need for more and more. And, to reconcile this brokenness, God sends Jesus to live among man and to be sacrificed.

In that time when Jesus is living among man, he does great things and he teaches great things. But here we have our Gospel reading when Nicodemus comes to him at night. Basically, he comes under the cover of darkness. Nicodemus is accomplished. Nicodemus is recognized. Nicodemus is part of the established church.

And, Jesus, he's some kind of itinerant preacher, rabbi guy who's wandering around, causing problems. And, to be honest, he's causing problems for a lot of the people Nicodemus is associated with. So he says, “What's going on?” He wants to know who this person really is. And he actually accredits him there. “You have done great things that only a man of God could do.” That's what he says.

And Jesus gives him this left-handed, out of the blue, “you gotta be born again” answer, which, maybe, we can understand today, because a lot of us have heard Billy Graham preach and talk about “born again” and that kind of thing. But in the moment, Nicodemus is pretty much in the dark. And, I think we, in the moment, would have been in the dark, as well. What do you mean by this? To be born of water and the spirit?

But Jesus is talking about putting aside what you know of your human existence, and your human laws, and your human rules, to understand what God has truly called us to be. To understand this is to be born anew, to be washed in the water, to be cleaned, not as a mikvah, but as something a little bit better than that. To be lifted by the spirit, to be opened by the spirit, to understand what God is calling us to do, not just the rules of God.

Nicodemus lives those rules. He lives them to a very high standard. That's who he is. But now, he's being asked to go beyond that and he's challenged to understand why. I'm sorry but, to be fair, in the moment, I would be challenged, as well. Now, if we take this to a different place, because we all live on this side of the Easter cross, and Jesus speaking is a lot different, because we hear Jesus, the resurrected Jesus. This is before that.

Let's cut Nicodemus some slack. And, now I stand here wearing an alb with some kind of trinket title and I'm part of the establishment. And, I wonder, that prayer, please allow me your words. May I be filled with your spirit so, as that I stand here today, I'm allowed to speak your words. Each and every one of us are part of an established church, and we know all the rules. But, do we allow ourselves to be open to the spirit of God in our day-to-day lives, in how we live, in how we conduct ourselves, as God's church?

Jesus is asking Nicodemus to put aside what he understands to appreciate what God is calling us to be. And, it's a challenge because we like our establishments. I do. It lets me understand how things work. In the day-to-day life, it really helps, because if everybody drives on the right side of the road, we won't kill one another.

But, we're asked to be more than that. To be disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to see past those simple, functional, elemental rules and understand that all of creation IS all of creation.

Now, here's the interesting part that I love, everybody loves and everybody knows. It's John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son.”

You know what's really interesting about that? I'm going to another confession. I never realized that was a quote. That's red text for those of those who have a Bible with Jesus' words in red. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.”

He is his only begotten son. That's a prophecy beyond what I had ever seen before. How many thousands of times have I read that and not seen it as prophecy, because of the person who was speaking it in the text? “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.” Here's the challenge. “So that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.

John, chapter 3, verse 17: “God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Jesus coming to earth, Jesus being sacrificed on the cross, and Jesus being risen from the dead is not a matter of judgment, but a matter of salvation. Nicodemus is sitting across from the Son of God who is telling him, “I am your salvation. I will reconcile you to God better than any of the laws you ever learned or understand or practiced. And all you have to do is follow me. Follow what I teach, follow what I do.”

Why is that so hard? And I'm sorry, but it is. It's hard in the moment, whether it's feeding people we see day to day, whether it's understanding that maybe people live differently than us, and we draw it to the point, and I'm sorry, I hate this. But, we're shooting missiles at one another again. I struggle, personally, to understand how that solves a problem.

It’s so easy for me to stand here and go, “Just love one another.” And, it's so hard for me to do it. It's hard for me to do it.

But that's what it's about. Jesus has led us to this over and over and over.

I've got a book at home. It's called the Jefferson Bible. Has anybody ever heard of “The Jefferson Bible?” Some of you have. Thomas Jefferson, one of our founding fathers, I would have loved to met him, but I think he was a terribly arrogant man. He was a linguist, and at some point in time in his life, he took the Bible in French, in English, in Latin, and in Greek, four of them. And, he cut out all of the “red” text in those Bibles, what Jesus actually said in those Bibles. He used the four different languages so he could get a fuller understanding and not be muddled by the fact that somebody had translated badly, because he was a scholar.

He assembled that all, right? And, he put it together and had it published for friends and family as “The Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.”

That was it. He didn't call it a Bible. After he died, somebody found this text and they published it over and over and over it, and they call it “The Jefferson Bible,” right? Jefferson's letters and writings have shown us that the reason he did that was because he wanted to know what Jesus actually said and not have it be muddied by all the words of these ignorant, illiterate people that he hung out with.

Why did you get these fishermen to write your story? Most of them couldn't write.

Jefferson wanted to have a better way for us to have the words that Jesus spoke. Because you guys keep messing it up. Not necessarily recognizing that he was just one of those guys who was messing it up. But, we do that. We continually do that. But, these are the red letter words: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.”

If you believe that you are here and saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it should all just be easy, right? Our Old Testament text was leave everything behind and go into the wilderness, and you will be great, a great nation. In this incredible act of faith, Abram does what he's asked. This incredible act of faith.

I thought about faith as being able to go walk in the dark, and it's not. Because if I turned out all the lights, and every one of us has had the experience of having to walk in the dark, right? You can do it. You don't need faith to walk in the dark. But most of us put a hand out in front and walk really slow if we don't have our shoes on, because it hurts when you find the furniture in the dark. Right? That's the way we walk in the dark. Tepidly. Maybe even in fear.

Having faith in God allows you to walk into the unknown boldly. In big steps. Proudly. That's what faith allows you. It's a great experience to truly have it. And I'm sure it takes time to build, and there's times it's been challenged in my life. But that’s the faith we hear of. That’s the faith Abraham had. That’s the faith we hear about in this second reading. That it's not about the law, but your faith and righteousness that you have received through this death of the one son, chosen and given for you.

I've said it before. Christ died for you. Take it personally. And, with that, take the strength that that righteousness gives you to not be in fear of jealousy, to not be in fear of judgment, or that you're less than, or that you're more than. But, to allow yourself to just be you and accept that the person next to you isn't. And, that's okay.

Having faith in the love of God and the grace that it presents to us is the only way, I believe, that this humanity can exist with one another in peace. It's so simple, and it's so powerful. It just bothers me that I can't live it.

I’m asking you to help me, and I will help you. And, maybe somewhere along the line..right?..this'll work. We can't throw rocks at one another anymore. We need to embrace one another. We need to share this good news because it’s a truth beyond anyone else's understanding. We need to show it and shine it in the world. It is our call and our responsibility as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Please, I pray to God that we do it. Walk, let us walk with our hand in God's hand, and that will lead us through the darkness and into a light. Amen.