The Real Power of a Broom

Refiner's Fire

Malachi 3:1-5 Rev. Beth Waldrup's farewell sermon Sunday, June 14, 2026. We wish her well in her retirement. We will miss her dearly.

The Real Power of a Broom

Most of think of a broom as a tool of cleaning up our homes or our churches. Certainly the Pharisees and scribes would like to use a broom to sweep away the people with whom Jesus was keeping company. So Jesus told them three parables. Let's look at the first two and discover how Jesus uses a broom.

Nothing Means Nothing

What is there about human beings that it always trying to compare ourselves to one another? That leads us to never ending distortion of thinking we know the limits of God's grace. We do not. I've heard tell people at a funeral that the deceased is in hell and if they do not repent, they will be there with him soon. How would he know? A grandmother came to see me one day because a group of kids told her eleven-year old grandson that his dad is in hell because he committed suicide. An adult taught them that and probably an adult in church. How would they know that? They may be limits to how we want to distribute grace but do not mistake our misunderstandings with God's limits.

The Anatomy of Hope

In the eighth chapter of Romans, Paul speaks of hope as something unseen. Today we live in a world that participates daily in the opposite of hope - cynicism. It is crushing us. But I have great hope today - hope in the cancer ward, hope in the church, and hope in our community.

Learning to See and Follow

All four Gospels contain a teaching section. For the Gospel of Mark, the teaching section is found betweem the healing of a blinf man in chapter eight and the healing of a blind man in chapter ten. In chapter eight, Jesus attempts to heal a man but the man cannot see clearly. He gets just enough of Jesus to change but not for the better. This coincides with the disciples knowing who Jesus is but not understanding the kingdom is not about them. It is not an earthly kingdom where you gain power, wealth, and influence. Discipleship is about giving thing up, not getting things you think you want.