“I understand why the world has it’s doubts about the church,” says Judy Kincaid. “We brought it on ourselves with things like the crusades, the inquisition, our acceptance of segregation and our mistreatment of the LGBTQ community. People doubt us because of all the times the church has acted out of fear and judgment instead of love. Our gospel lesson for this Sunday (John 20:19-31) shows the early church huddled behind a locked door. This was not the church at its best.” But the Christ of fearless love has a way of coming through locked doors, even the doors of the church. Kincaid is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) with a doctorate in preaching from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. Click the play button above to see and hear her sermon.
Manuscript available: click HERE