Dress You Up in My Love
A Sermon on Colossians 3:12-17 by the Rev. Kenneth E. Kovacs, Ph.D., preached at the Covenant Network Regional Conference, University Presbyterian Church, Baton Rouge, LA, 24th January 2015: "The non-possessive delight in the particularity of the other. Love sees the other and does not confuse the other with oneself. Love allows the other to exist in freedom and creates a space for the other to be. Love creates a space to be—it always creates a space. Love does not possess the other, or control, define, delimit, or diminish the other. Love transforms the other from an it (an object to be controlled) into a Thou (a subject worthy of respect and honor). Love allows the other to be, to thrive, to grow, to exist apart from oneself, to have a life apart from oneself, and then takes immense delight and joy in the particularity, the uniqueness, the incomparability of the other. When we love this way the other comes into focus before our eyes and we are allowed to see, really see the other for whom s/he really is. The non-possessive delight in the particularity of the other."
The Way Toward Birth - Dawning Light
A Sermon on Isaiah 11: 1-10 & Luke 1: 67-79 by the Rev. Ken Kovacs: "...the incarnation is not a one-time occurrence but something that has fundamentally changed and is changing the very structure of our existence. In the incarnation we discover a “demonstration” that God is forever “risking spirit” by being active in the world and our lives. The Spirit enters and for all it’s worth charges into earth – where? Yes, in Jesus, but in birth after birth, ever fresh and fresh. In your birth and my birth ever fresh and fresh, doing something new."
A Life of Service
A Sermon on Mark 9:30-37 by the Rev. Ken Kovacs: When Jesus embraces the child it’s a symbolic action that demonstrates what Jesus is all about, what matters most in the kingdom of God; he shows us the kinds of values and questions that matter to God.[5] We should not be arguing who is the greatest. Instead, we are called to question the moral structure of society if that structure does not allow for the care of the “least of these” (Matthew 25:40). What is more, we have to work against that structure if society is not willing to care for the “least of these.”
The Threat of Literalism
An essay by Kenneth E. Kovacs: "...reality is infinitely more complicated and complex than fundamentalists will acknowledge, actually more than they are free to admit. Fundamentalism, especially the religious variety, is the very opposite of freedom. It’s a form of bondage..."
Tearing Down the Walls: More Than Tolerance
"Jesus showed us that you can bring who you are, all that makes you different, distinct, and unique, … all of your 'particularity,' bring it all into the household of God." (from this sermon by the Rev. Dr. Kenneth E. Kovacs, Catonsville Presbyterian Church.)