George Hermanson

The Rising

April 4, 2010
St. Paul's - Richmond United Church
Season of Easter
Easter Sunday

John 20:1-18
Read the Bible passage: John 20:1-18, The Message;   or   John 20:1-18, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here: George Hermanson's sermon, for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this post.

Short, easy to use, faith-provoking insights by David Ewart, John 20:1-18, Holy Textures

The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson

One of the warnings we get is be careful with your personal information because there are people out to steal our identity. Identity theft is with us and it has always been with us. Those who experience it speak of losing their sense of self. They have become a nobody - a sense they no longer exist. They say their sense of self - their soul has been stolen. They no longer exist, cannot be seen. In the past, though, it was much more violent. The Romans used the Cross to achieve this - the one crucified becomes a nobody. Their identity stolen. Their reality is destroyed - it is as if they never existed. Crucifixion destroyed identity.

Yet here we are with Mary. The one she loved was crucified. The Romans tried to wipe away any sense of Jesus - to make him a nobody, to wipe away all memory of him. But for Mary it was not an end. She is still searching. She is looking for meaning. We, too, gather this Easter morning to celebrate the memory of a crucified one - Jesus.

The Seeker, Year B, Easter 5, Sermon

May 10, 2009
Edwards (Knox) United Church
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Mother's Day

Acts 8:26-40
Read the passage: The Message   or    The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

John 15:1-8
Read the passage: The Message   or    The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

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The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson

In Acts, Philip asks if the Eunuch understands what he is reading. He replies that he needs a guide. What an important metaphor for mother's day. An important reminder of the role of the church.

One afternoon a friend of mine, when we were teenagers, dropped in to see me. I was not there. Only my mother was there. Jack sat down with her and began to ask questions. My mother listened. Finally, as it was getting dark, my mother said, "Maybe we need to turn on some lights." What is so important to me is that the conversation went on and on, questions asked and responded to. There was no hurry. For Jack, he had been listened to, taken seriously. It was for him a life changing experience, for when my mother died, he flew out for her memorial service.

Questions are the stuff of life.

Saying and Doing, Year B, Easter 4

May 3, 2009
Edwards (Knox) United Church
Fourth Sunday of Easter

Psalm 23
Read the passage: The Message   or    The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

1 John 3:16-24
Read the passage: The Message   or    The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

John 10:11-18
Read the passage: The Message   or    The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

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The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson

The image of the Good Shepherd is one of the most iconic images in the church. It is one that is found in the Hebrew texts and of course Psalm 23. Every Sunday, when I was growing up, I looked at the stain glass image at the front of the church. It was so vivid that when I close my eyes I can still see that iconic picture of Jesus as the great Shepherd. There he was in vivid color, with the lamb over his shoulders.

There was a strange comfort in that image. Yet most of us are at some distance from the care of sheep. Being a prairie boy, lambs and sheep were not in my experience. Cows, pigs and chickens, yes. Sheep, no.

Trust

Second Sunday in Easter
April 19, 2009
St. Paul’s United Church, Richmond

Psalm 133
Read the passage: The Message   or    The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

John 20:19-31
Read the passage: The Message   or    The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

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The Rev. Suzanne E. Sykes

This past Monday, after all the excitement and activities of Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, I finally had a chance to catch up with my reading.  Reading the weekend’s newspapers.  As I sat in my  chair, by the living room window, in the sunshine, watching the river run, drinking my coffee, an article in Saturday’s opinion section jumped out at me. It got me thinking.  And it really stuck with me.

Can We Trust God?

April 19, 2009
Edwards (Knox) United Church
Second Sunday of Easter

Acts 4:32-35
Read the passage: The Message   or    The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

John 20:19-31
Read the passage: The Message   or    The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

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The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson

This story of Thomas is such a modern story. We hear it in the phrase, "show me the money." In an article by Robert Sibley (Citizen April 11, 2009) he says that trust is the sleeper issue of our time. For the "economic trauma we living through is fundamentally a crisis of trust."

We do not often think about how we got to where we are, how we have become who we are. Our sense of liberal democracy has been based on cooperation, trust based on commonly shared values. Trust is necessary for a healthy, vibrant society. This is the idea of working for the common good, and to do that means trust is needed. However, since the Second World War the sense of community and trust has been slowly disappearing. The last few decades, the trust we have had in institutions, churches, and governments has been lost and some feel it never will be restored in their lifetime. Polls have consistently shown  "a much larger pattern of declining trust in public figures and institutions."

The Rising

April 12, 2009
Edwards (Knox) United Church
Easter Sunday

John 20:1-18
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

We have all heard of identity theft. Those who experience it speak of losing their sense of self. They have become a nobody - a sense they no longer exist. They say their self  - their soul has been stolen. They no longer exist, cannot be seen. The Romans used the Cross to achieve this - the one crucified becomes a nobody. Their identity stolen. Their reality is destroyed - it is as if they never existed.

Yet here we are with Mary. The one she loved was crucified. The Romans tried to wipe away any sense of Jesus - to make him a nobody, to wipe away the memory of him.  But for Mary it was not an end. She is still searching. She is looking for meaning.

Witnessing - Testimony

May 4, 2008
Edwards (Knox) United Church
Seventh Sunday of Easter

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

Luke 24:44-53
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

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The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson

One of the ideas we explored on our study leave is how the church is in continuous experimentation.  The church has gone through and is going through questions of how shall we live our faith?  What does it mean to witness and give testimony? If you check out Wondercafe.ca you will find both lament and hope over where are we as a church.  A typical comment of lament is this:

Maybe church, as we know it, is a thing of the past and 100 years from now on a "then and now" thread someone will post "Do you remember Churches? Do you remember God?"   

Who Are You Going To Serve?

April 27, 2008
Edwards (Knox) United Church
Sixth Sunday of Easter

Acts 17:22-31
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

John 14:15-21
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

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The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson

Paul’s encounter before the Areopagus is a very current issue.  Bob Dylan rephrased it in his song “you're gonna have to serve somebody.”  They are suggesting we all are going to serve someone or something or some idea.  Paul Tillich suggested that everyone has an Ultimate Concern.  Whether it is stated or not, we all work out of some meaning system which tells us what is worthy of our loyalty.   Sometimes, what we say with words is not what really motivates us or what is most important to us. In fact, actions can tell us what is of ultimate concern for us; what we do shows what we really serve.

Back to The Shepherd (Redux)

April 13, 2008
Edwards (Knox) United Church
Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:42-47
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

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

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The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson

We  can easily see in our imagination some picture of Jesus as the shepherd.   For the image of Jesus the Good Shepherd is one of the most powerful images in the Christian imagination.  For me it is the famous painting of Jesus with the lamb over his shoulder.  It was the stained glass at the front of my home church.  So today, if I close my eyes, that sanctuary comes back in my imagination, so deep was the impression.   

Road Trips

April 6, 2008
Edwards (Knox) United Church
Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:36-41
Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Luke 24:13-35
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.

Short, easy to use, faith provoking insights by David Ewart on Holy Textures, Luke 24:13-49

The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson

Every so often Suzanne and I feel the need for a road trip.  This is a time of exploration. As we drive out of our driveway we put on road music, beginning with the Guess Who.  We go off, looking for adventure and new vistas, being changed by new realities and situations.  Even when we are off to sunny climes, we go off to explore the local reality, to move beyond our comfort zones, to get a wider sense of our world.