Emily Scott, St. Lydia’s pastor, has quickly become one of my favorite sermon writers and preachers. Enjoy this sermon from Lent. I meant to post this earlier, of course.
The World Ends a Little Bit Every Day.
Here’s the beginning. Click above to read the rest at her blog, Sit and Eat.
I preached this sermon (or one very much like it) at St. Lydia’s on Sunday, March 17, as a part of our exploration of the Gospel of Luke. The text is Luke 21:5-33: Jesus speaking about the destruction of the temple. You can read the text here.
Over the last few weeks,
I have been making my way through an eight part, seventeen and a half hour
PBS documentary called “New York: A Documentary.”
It was made by Ric Burns, brother of Ken Burns,
and it documents the modern history of New York City,
from Henry Hudson landing on the tip of Manhattan.
The first five parts of the series were released in 1999,
and watching it,
I was aware of a certain, sweeping, tone.
It is a grand portrayal of the city,
with arial shots of glinting buildings
and shining blue waters, choppy in the breeze.
There is something naively hopeful
about the perspective of this documentary.
Something almost innocent.
And then the camera pulls back for a shot of the Manhattan skyline,
the two towers of the World Trade Center
rising up to pierce the sky.