David H. Brooks | Göttinger Predigten im Internet

John 10:11-18

Fourth Sunday of Easter | April 21, 2024 | John 10:11-18 | David H. Brooks | Impromptu poll: when was the last time you saw a shepherd? I imagine most of you would say that the last Christmas pageant you attended would be not just the last, but probably the only time you saw (see)…

Mark 14:12-26

Maundy Thursday | March 28, 2024 | Mark 14:12-26 | David H. Brooks | On a recent commercial for the financial services firm Nerdwallet, a “Future You” was complaining about how “You” were always making her life hard. Nerdwallet wants you to buy something now to help “Future You,” but the idea that what you…

Mark 1:9-15

First Sunday in Lent | February 18, 2024 | Sermon text: Mark 1:9-15 | David Brooks | As we begin Lent, we find ourselves out with Jesus in the wilderness. The wilderness. It’s the place that causes people to say/write things such as: Trails need to be reconstructed. Please avoid building trails that go uphill….

John 1:41-53

Second Sunday after the Epiphany | January 14, 2024 | John 1:41-53 | David H. Brooks | When I was a kid, I was a big fan of the television show Captain Kangaroo. I always looked forward to watching the show, and, although I didn’t realize it at the time, I was soaking up the…

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Third Sunday in Advent | December 17, 2023 | John 1:6-8, 19-28 | Dave Brooks | I recently had a conversation with another father who is struggling to help one of his children. His youngest—always bubbly, always full of joy—did not do well during the Covid lockdown. Being online for school was a disaster. Away…

Matthew 5:1-12, Revelation 7:9-17

Sunday of All Saints | November 5, 2023 | Matthew 5:1-12, Revelation 7:9-17 | Dave Brooks | “Who are these, clothed in white? From where do they come?” Let us be blunt. That great multitude that John saw, the vast host from every tribe and language and nation and people that stand before the throne…

Matthew 20:1-16

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost | September 24, 2023 | Matthew 20:1-16 | David H. Brooks | I may be the only one, but when I read this parable Jesus tells, I catch a whiff of dear old Tevye rubbing his hand together in glee, humming under his breath “if I were a rich man…” (Or…

Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43

Pentecost 8 | July 23, 2023 | Mt 13:24–30, 36–43 | David H. Brooks | A newspaperman named Doug Larson once quipped that “a weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except growing in rows.” I would flip Mr. Larson’s observation on its head and say, “a crop plant is one that…

Matthew 9:9-13 (Acts 13:1-3)

2nd Sunday after Pentecost | June 11, 2023 | Mt 9:9-13 (also Acts 13:1-3) | Dave Brooks | Today, our liturgical calendar has offered us an opportunity, for today is both the Second Sunday after Pentecost and the Feast of St. Barnabas. Two disciples for the price of one! The Scripture passages for both these…

John 10:1-10

Fourth Sunday in Easter | April 30, 2023 | John 10:1-10 | David Brooks | If you conduct any business online, then you know that online security is a major issue. Strong passwords, virtual private networks, multi-factor authentication, not accepting clickable files or links in email or text messages are just a starting point for making sure…

Matthew 17:1-9

Sunday of the Transfiguration | February 19, 2023 | Matthew 17:1-9 | Dave Brooks | One of the gifts that Eastern Orthodox Christians have given us are icons. These images of Christ, the saints, and scenes from Church history have a rich theology, are a source of controversy and even scandal across some portions of the Christian…

Matthew 2:1-12

Feast of the Epiphany | 01/06/23 | Mt 2:1-12 | David H. Brooks | Recognizing that few modern Westerners have real knowledge of the night sky, several companies have created phone apps that will let the user scan the horizon and identify the objects that they see. Each app works somewhat differently, but the idea…

Matthew 24:36-44

First Sunday in Advent, Year A | November 27, 2022 | Sermon Text: Matthew 24:36-44 | Dave Brooks | At the foot of scarred Mount St Helens lies a lake filled with bleached, water-soaked logs. Called Spirit Lake, it was for many years a popular place for vacationers who boated, fished, and swam in its waters. On…

Luke 18:1-8

Pentecost 19 | October 16, 2022 | Luke 18:1-8 | David H. Brooks | 18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a…

Luke 14:1, 7-14

12th Sunday after Pentecost | August 28, 2022 | Luke 14:1, 7-14 | David Brooks | Once again, as we have experienced over these last few weeks, we are led by Jesus to notice what is contained in ordinary moments—the regular give and take of daily life, things that occupy us all. One of the…

Fith Sunday after Pentecost

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost | July 10, 2022 | David Brooks | “A lawyer stood up to test Jesus…” When you read that sentence, does your mind go to some image or scene of a standoff, a showdown, a duel? Two combatants enter the ring, step out into the street, draw their rapiers, and face…

John 8:48-59

Feast of Holy Trinity | June 12, 2022 | Sermon Text: John 8:48-59 | David Brooks | Last Sunday, as we celebrated the Feast of Pentecost, one of our prayers included this: On this day, you once taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending your Holy Spirit. Grant us in our day by…

John 21:1-19

Third Sunday, Season of Easter | May 1, 2022 | John 21:1-19 | David Brooks | I am going to exercise a bit of pastoral privilege and extend our Gospel reading by a few more verses; I believe that, for us to fully understand this event by the Sea of Tiberias, we need “the rest…

Luke 20:9-20

The Fifth Sunday in Lent | April 3, 2022 | Lk 20:9-20 | David H. Brooks | Some years ago, I heard a speaker riff on old Polonius with the clever phrase “neither a renter nor a landlord be.” There is truth in this expression, for a quick spin around the Google will find plenty…

Luke 4:1-13

First Sunday in Lent | March 6, 2022 | Lk 4:1-13 | David H. Brooks | Who am I? It is the supreme question of our age—we are people profoundly wrapped up in finding an identity. The child starting school, sitting amid new faces not yet friends, hearing his or her name called by a…

Sermon on Matthew 2:1-12

Feast of the Epiphany | January 6, 2022 | by David Brooks | Sermon Text: Matthew 2:1-12 There is a moment in the novel Lord of the Rings that gives a glimpse into J.R.R. Tolkien’s Christian faith. Two wizards with opposite aims and goals are talking and the one says “I am Saruman the Wise,…

Jeremiah 33:14-16

First Sunday in Advent, B | November 28, 2021 | Sermon Text: Jeremiah 33:14-16 | David H. Brooks | Life in a cell is a life measured out in square footage. First you pace out length—1, 2, 3—and then you pace out width—1…2. Probably something around 6×8, maybe 7×10—50 to 70 square feet. Being captive…

Mark 10:23-31

Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost | October 17, 2021 | Sermon Text: Mark 10:23-31 | A very funny comedy routine is George Carlin’s classic “Stuff.” While Mr. Carlin was not everyone’s cup of tea, he cuts like a well-skilled surgeon as he examines why we feel we need “so much stuff.” “Be honest!” he says: “your…

Mark 6:14-29

Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist | August 29, 2021 | Sermon Text: Mark 6:14-29 | by Pastor Dave Brooks | While this summer has given us much—too much, maybe—upon which to focus, those of you who are sharp-eyed or sharp-eared will remember that we heard this story from Mark about the execution of…

Mark 6:14-29

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost | July 11, 2021 | Sermon Text: Mark 6:14-29 | by David H. Brooks | Perhaps this story about Herod and John should induce us to change the old saying—if you strike at a prophet, make sure he’s dead. This Herod is a grandson of the old Herod they called…

John 15:26-27; 16:4-15

Day of Pentecost May 23, 2021 | Sermon Text: John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 | by David Brooks | If you have ever participated in a scavenger hunt, you know that the excitement comes in two ways: part of the fun comes from the competition, from the effort to be the first to complete your scavenger list; but…

Second Sunday in Easter

April 11, 2021 | Sermon Text: John 20:19-31 | by David H. Brooks | Can you imagine a more dour, sad place than the room where the disciples gathered to face the end? As the evening shadows fell, and they stared into each other faces, do you think that they really spoke at all? Everything…

Fourth Sunday in Lent

March 14, 2021 | John 3:14-21 | David Brooks | A man strode down the sidewalk looking at his phone. He glanced up momentarily and walked into a local hotel to check in. As he strode to the front desk, he noticed that the bellman was not on duty to greet him and take his…

Third Sunday in Advent

December 13, 2020 | Sermon Text: John 1:6-8, 19-28 | David H. Brooks | I suppose, when 2020 has finally reached the stage where the historians can freely pick over its carcass, one of the stories that will emerge is the failure of expertise. It has not been a good year for those…

All Saints Day

All Saints Day November 1, 2020 | Revelation 7:9-17 | Pastor David H. Brooks | Many years ago, I watched a performance of an Irish play entitled “Stones in His Pockets,” which tells the story of a big, brash Hollywood production landing on a tiny rural Irish town to properly capture the perfect Celtic atmosphere….