Matthew 28:16-20 “But some doubted…” These are some of my favorite words in this last breath of Matthew’s Gospel. I love that they are here in all their unexpected surprise, for if some who were there and who actually witnessed the resurrection and who gathered on that mountain to hear Jesus’ final instructions to them …
The Holy Spirit: The Breath of God!
Acts 2:1-21 John 20:19-23 “The bush was always burning. It just took someone moving slow enough to notice it.” —Rob Bell, May 15, 2017, The Festival of Homiletics “When did the Spirit of Life last touch you? You know when it was… If it happened before, it can happen again…” — Barbara Brown Taylor, May …
That They May be One… That WE May Be One…
John 17:1-11` “That they may be one…. that WE may be one…” I stood with friends on the street above listening to the heartfelt strains of Amazing Grace rising up to us from the River Walk below. Perhaps a hundred or more had made their way — crowding into the patio of the Bier Garten …
“I Will Not Leave You Orphaned…”
John 14:15-21 It is so that I cannot hear Jesus’ promise today without pausing in an experience that surely shaped my own family story. It is a story of being ‘orphaned.’ My dad was all of five years old when his own father died. His death was unexpected and, no doubt this, combined with it …
“I Am The Way…”
John 14:1-14 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” John 14:6 A text came through on my day off saying that one of ours was in the hospital. It sounded serious and so I paused in the midst of my errands to check in. I was dressed for …
Thieves and Bandits … and the Shepherd
Psalm 23 John 10:1-10 I shook my head to see the ad — I expect you did, too. Apparently a major department store is now selling jeans encased in fake ‘mud’ — at a price of $425. I shook my head to imagine that anyone, anywhere, would pay such a price to appear to be …
Encountering Jesus On the Way
Luke 24:13-35 She leaned in close and took my pendant in her hand.”Whose fingerprint is this?” She asked. “It’s not,” I replied. “It”s a labyrinth.” “Oh,” she said. “I had a friend whose sister died. She wore her fingerprint on a pendant around her neck.” So no, it’s not a fingerprint that I’ve worn for …
An Imperishable, Undefiled, Unfading Inheritance
1 Peter 1:3-9 “By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading…” (I Peter 1:3-4) I am working this out still, I know I am, but here it is. Here …
The Promise of Easter Life and Moving President Polk
Matthew 28:1-10 “But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised as he said. Come see the place where he lay…” (Matthew 28:5-6) It is no wonder, of course, that the …
Matthew’s Passion: A Reflection Companion for Holy Week
Matthew 27:11-54 As I sit with Matthew’s Passion, my imagination is captured this time through by the various characters who populate the familiar scene before us now. In fact, I’m considering how we might pause together during this Holy Week with each and all of them. There is Pilate, of course, who appears wholly reluctant …