Luke 21:25-36 I spent several hours in the E.R. the other night — this time not because I had been called. No, instead, I was on the other side. I’ll spare you the details, but I was suffering a severe gall bladder attack. After they diagnosed it and addressed my pain, they sent me home …
Category: Lectionary
A King Like No Other
John 18:33-37 I has been ringing through my mind these last days — the cry of the people in 1 Samuel. You remember it. They are in the land which was promised to them. They have been watched over and led by a series of Judges — some of whom did better than others. And …
The Beginning of the Birth Pangs
Mark 13:1-8 The world ended that day. With that phone call. That startling news.That deepening realization. The world ended that day. Or at least it ended as you had known it. I am so deeply aware of this right now for I am in the midst of a stretch of funerals. Some expected. Others not. …
Seeing the Widow
Mark 12:38-44 Truly, my whole life — including the years I have served as a pastor — I have heard the story of the widow in Mark’s Gospel as a story of sacrificial giving. It is a story about generosity. It is an image of one who gave all that she had. This drama and …
All Saints Day: Claiming the Easter Promise
Isaiah 25:6-9John 11:32-44 For as long as I have been a pastor, I have loved All Saints Day. In some years, I have made the time to walk through a local cemetery — returning to those places I have frequented in the months past. Other years, time just gets away from me or the weather …
Truth and Freedom
John 8:31-36 And so what is this truth that makes us free? I was called upon to preach at our local Hospice Annual Memorial Service a few weeks ago. Those in attendance were primarily family members and friends of dear ones who had died in the past year. I knew their memories would be fresh …
James, John, Jesus and my Great Aunt Esther
Mark 10:35-45 When I was a child, my imagination had painted a picture of heaven — one which may well have been informed by the interaction between James and John and Jesus shared today. Now it is so that before the age of eight, I had little reason to think much of heaven. And then …
On Recovering Perfectionists and the Rich Man
Mark 10:17-31 My 7th grade home economics teacher called me a perfectionist. I don’t remember the occasion for this critique — and believe me, it was precisely that, for there was no kindness in her tone. I do remember being surprised, for I wondered then what could possibly be wrong with striving for perfection. And …
On Bandaged Fingers and Broken Hearts: Jesus’ Words on Divorce
If you are a regular reader, you will know that I already posted some reflections on this Gospel reading. However, since I attempt to get something online in a timely way so as to be in conversation with other preachers, often my thoughts crystallize between then and when I actually preach on a particular text. …
On Divorce and and All of Us Little Children
Mark 10:2-16 When I was a young pastor this was a particularly challenging Gospel to preach. It still is, of course, but close to thirty years ago one was especially aware of the mere handful in our midst who had been divorced. Now, though, I am hard pressed to think of a family which in …