"Pastor Jorge Domingues" Tagged Sermons
So Good, It Catches Us By Surprise
John’s Gospel doesn’t begin with a temptation story but instead opens Jesus’ ministry with a wedding miracle, a miracle Jesus enacted seemingly for the sole purpose of expanding joy by keeping the good vibes flowing (literally). It may feel a bit lavish to start the season of Lent with a wedding banquet, but the good news begins with joy. This week we focus on the subversive and playful nature of the good news. The kin-dom of heaven is so good…
FEAR DOESN’T STOP US
Matthew 2:1-12, Matthew 2:16-28 (NRSV) Luke’s Gospel begins the story of Jesus with this opening line: “In the time of Herod…” This detail may seem minor to modern readers, however, it reveals layers of information about the fearful world Jesus entered, one filled with rampant oppression, economic disparity, uncertainty, and instability. A world not so unlike our own. And yet, throughout the stories of Christ’s birth, we hear the whispers of angels delivering a surprising message: “Do not fear.” In…
LET FEAR FUEL A FIRE FOR JUSTICE
Matthew 2:13-15, Matthew 2:19-23 (NRSV) As we celebrate Christmas this week, we are filled with joy with the birth of baby Jesus, the announcement of the angels, the whole creation bursting with hope. And we are also reminded that the Holy Family endured fear, rejection, uncertainty at this moment in their life. Things could have gone wrong, but God accompanied them in the journey to Bethlehem. But that fearful and perilous journey was just the beginning. The Holy Family fears…
Dirt and Water
In the book of Genesis, dirt (or ground) and water are created in the first narrative of the creation story and “given” to humankind to have “dominion” over all creatures living in both earth and seas. This narrative reinforces the hierarchical and anthropomorphic understanding of God–”God the Father, Humankind the children, Creation the subject”. Diana Butler Bass invites us to change our understanding of God, quoting the 20th Century German theologian, Paul Tillich, and the teachings of 4th century BCE…
Critical Mass
Pastor Jorge’s message, Critical Mass, will hold the scripture in conversation with the lives and legacies of the Hebrew prophet Hosea and the contemporary prophet Salvadoran archbishop Óscar Romero. Rohr affirms that “God’s message and messengers—and often the hearers—all tend to be outliers to ‘the way everybody thinks’… The whole group never gets the message, but a smaller group (the ‘remnant’) carries the love and hope of restoration after… the trials and tribulations the people endure”. The prophets taught us…
