Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 Now it is so that on a first read through there may not appear to be much that actually ‘preaches’ in this week’s Gospel. Indeed, the folks who put together our lectionary selections completely skipped over the vivid scene of Jesus feeding the five thousand (not counting the women and children) with …
The Beheading of John: How Might This Gruesome Story Still Speak?
Mark 6:14-29 It is so that the images brought to mind by Mark’s Gospel today are gruesome in the extreme. Perhaps because of or in spite of this, one almost cannot help but be pulled into the drama playing out before us now where the scene includes: A drunken party A young girl’s (no doubt) …
Taking Nothing for the Journey…
Mark 6:1-13 “Take nothing with you,” Jesus says today. Not a loaf of bread, or a bag, or a little extra cash, or an extra coat. Pack lightly. And so today I cannot help but wonder how Jesus might phrase this now. For not only are you and I certainly encumbered with more ‘stuff’ than …
There May Yet Be Hope
Lamentations 3:22-33 I confess to not having spent a whole lot of time in Lamentations. These powerful prayers reflect an experience of utter devastation which have not been part of my life experience — at least not first-hand. And yet, of late, I have yearned for the hoped for promise uttered in the section which …
Turning to the One in the Stern…
Mark 4:35-41 I was on call at our local hospital a few weeks back. I take my turn every six weeks or so. Often those weeks pass without a single call. That week was different, though. It seemed as though every day there was a request for a chaplain. It was on my third such …
He Does Not Know How… Scattering Seeds in the Kingdom of God
Mark 4:26-34 Could there possibly be an easier illustrated Gospel reading than this one at this time of year? At least I know this to be the case where I call home. I look out my window to see a world that is lush and green. I drive through the countryside and take in field …
Speaking of ‘Family’: A Local ICE Raid
Mark 3:20-35 And Jesus replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” The pertinence of this question came home to me in a powerful way in these last few days. I received a text from a young colleague. He had picked up a rumor that a road was blocked in the east part of town …
God’s Call: Hannah and Eli, Samuel and Eli’s Sons
1 Samuel 3:1-20 1 Samuel 1-4 I got thinking about one’s ‘sense of call’ the other night. Here is how it was. They were just about to start boarding my flight home on Friday and so I made one last run to the restroom. As I came back down the escalator to the gate area, …
It’s No Wonder Nicodemus Wondered… Revisited
Below you will find a re-working of a post which was published on this site in 2012. I have had an unusually full week with multiple hospital calls and a couple of funerals and I simply haven’t had the time and space to dwell deeply in the lessons for Holy Trinity. In addition, I fly …
A Pentecost Wind
Ezekiel 37:1-14 Acts 2:1-21 The wind blew one day a few weeks back. It blew in a time and place where I was not, but I quickly became aware of its power and its presence. It blew across open fields on one of the first days the farmers were able to get out on their …