George Hermanson

Being Possessed

February 1, 2009
Edwards (Knox) United Church
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany

1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

Mark 1:21-28
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this post.

The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson

Driving out Demons? What are we to make of this? In our modern world we have had many theological debates over the term. For some it refers to some psychological problem - or illness, to explain away the word. In doing so we can rob it of its metaphorical meaning and what it could mean to us.

Decisions

January 25, 2009
Edwards (Knox) United Church
Third Sunday After Epiphany

Jonah 3:1-10
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

Mark 1:14-20
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this post.

The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson

Decision making is basic to us, and to all living things. No matter who we are, we are being invited to make a decision about this or that. Even animals have the capacity to make decisions about their environment, and our human consciousness is even more dependent on decisions made, personal or corporate. What is, arises from our creative responses to our environment. Decisions are also influenced by decisions made by others, our personal and corporate histories. Our health and our history influence what we decided. Our decisions are also influenced by unconscious factors and the conscious influences of our world. For example, Macleans has an article about advertising which now works on, "Its all about You."

Come and See

January 18, 2009
Edwards (Knox) United Church
Second Sunday After Epiphany

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

John 1:43-51
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this post.

The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson

John gives us a great drama in this story. Jesus is in the process of organizing his posse, and after Peter and Andrew, he calls Philip. In response, Philips seeks out his neighbor Nathanael. He says "we have found the one we were looking for." He lays out a list of expectation that were filled, but adds one unexpected quality - Jesus is from Nazareth. In response to this information Nathanael says - Nazareth? - give me a break. Philip says yah, but come and see, test the waters to see if they are good. He has repeated a mantra of Jesus of come and see. It is the experience that confirms the words. It takes a jumping in, not a holding back with a default position. No half hearted and tentative response.

A River Flows Through Us

January 11, 2009
Edwards (Knox) United Church
The Baptism of Jesus

Genesis 1:1-5
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

Mark 1:4-11
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this post.

The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson

Liturgy is our way of shifting gears. It's purpose is to ask us to stop in mid stride and ask again where do we want to go? What is it that will inform us for our living? As we know, the Christian New Year began with Advent, a time of preparation for us to welcome the light of wisdom to guide us on our journey. This Sunday we reflect on Baptism as the foundational experience for our ministry in the world. Our texts tell us that baptism began Jesus’ ministry and we are called to live out that symbolism.

Light Breaks In

Year A, B, C, Season of Christmas
Christmas 2
Sunday Between January 2 and January 5
January 2, 2011

January 4, 2009
Edwards (Knox) United Church
Epiphany

John 1:(1-9), 10-18
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

Matthew 2:1-12
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this post.

The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson

One of the issues of our time is the power of words to reveal and the power of words to hide. Harold Pinter, who died this Christmas eve, was a playwright who has influenced much of what we see in movies, on stage. “His plays were all about the dangers of speaking, in pubic or in private, and the danger of speaking. His characters use language as evasion, as defense, as weapons, but rarely to communicate what they mean.”¹ He used silence and pauses to speak a truth deeper than the words.

This issue of the use of language comes out in such phrases, "can we trust the words of politicians."  Even those who preach are under question about what they say. Our world is full of images that seek to manipulate our senses. Yet at the same time, we question all that is being said.