John 2:13-22 As I sit with the familiar scene before us now, it occurs to me that maybe my first instinct is to ‘over-humanize’ Jesus — that perhaps I am attributing too much of what I see in you and me to him. And yet, at least in my experience, this is precisely what many …
Picking Up Our Crosses: Dismantling Fear
Mark 8:31-38 I came home for supper this last Wednesday night. It was Ash Wednesday, and the day had already been full. I had preached at our noon service and so I figured I had a little more time before heading back for evening worship. The sermon was ‘tested’ already and would not need revision. …
This Time Apart: Entering Lent
Mark 1:9-15 I remember this well. A friend was pastor of a congregation which was then a new mission. As a result, their membership boasted all sorts of people who were relatively young in the faith — or at least that is why I was told they made this decision. “We don’t celebrate the season …
Passing on the Mantle
2 Kings 2:1-12 I am thinking a lot these days about what it is to have precious gifts passed along — perhaps not unlike what transpired between Elijah and Elisha in the vivid scene before us now. And yes, I expect I think about it now for I am aware that I am entering into …
This Battle Here and Now
Mark 1:29-39 Here is what strikes me today about this reading from Mark’s Gospel. The battle is local. It is in the home of Simon and Andrew and visits them on their front porch. And it is in nearby, neighboring towns. Indeed, one doesn’t have to travel far to witness suffering and often the despair …
Out in the Open: Casting Out Unclean Spirits
Mark 1:21-28 I think perhaps my take on this week’s Gospel reading is far too simple now. Maybe this is because I hardly know what to make of it and so I find myself settling on what little I know for sure. For this is where I wonder: What does it mean that in the …
God Always Finds a Way
Jonah 3:1-5, 10 I can’t resist spending time with Jonah this week for I found echoes of this ancient story in the exchange I had with a ‘wise beyond his years’ second grader last Sunday. First his grandmother and then his mother came to me. “Carter has a question,” they said. “We don’t know how …
This Holy Calling
1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20) John 1:43-51 It is so that I have long struggled to help people understand that pastors are not the only ones who are ‘called.’ Or to communicate in a way that people understand this reality that ‘calls’ are not always dramatic in the way we hear about with young Samuel today. …
Walking to Bethlehem
Luke 2:1-20 Somehow I had a spare moment earlier in December, and decided to try to get a head start on my Christmas Sermon. At least for me, this is one of the most difficult sermons to preach in any given year. Emotions run high. The crowds tend to be larger than usual — expanded …
Proclaiming Liberty to the Captives: #Metoo
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 John 1:6-8, 19-28 I won’t lie to you, I am tired. I am weary of hearing day after day about another one falling. Men, mostly. Wealthy, powerful, influential men who somewhere along the way forgot what it is to be human among humans. Humane among others who are so very vulnerable. And …