John 14:15-21 It is deeply embedded in my family story, the experience of being ‘orphaned.’ Perhaps in one way or another it is part of all of our stories. This is how it was. My dad’s dad died suddenly when he was five. What made the loss particularly poignant was that no one told him. …
Tag: John
The Shepherd’s Voice
John 10:1-10 I write today as one who has always loved the church. And for the most part, I write as one who has experienced deeply and consistently the kindness and care and encouragement of those who call the church home as well. Lately, though, I have begun to wonder if this very human institution …
Thomas and the Gift and Power of Community
It has been some time since I have written here. Much of that time I was still preaching, but I did not have the space (mentally, emotionally, even spiritually) to hold two weeks of reflection and preaching in my heart at one time and so I was not able to put my thoughts together early …
“When Peace Like a River…”
John 14:23-29 I have it tucked away somewhere, a newsletter article written by a colleague and friend some nearly thirty years ago. Although I cannot lay my hands on it now, no matter, for the gist and the import of it has never left me. George was undergoing treatment for cancer. The words he wrote …
Hearing the Shepherd’s Voice
John 10:22-30 I am considering now all the clamoring voices which too much overwhelm, claiming attention and yes, allegiance in ways they do not deserve, in ways and times and places which are certainly not life giving. Those voices which in too many ways, too many times, too often, drown out the Voice which calls …
This Sweet Aroma: Kneeling at the Feet of Jesus
John 12:1-8 We enter into this room today, made familiar, somehow, by those who are there. For we know these people by now… both those who are named and whose words and actions draw us closer in and those who stay in the background, watching and listening, as you and I do now. We know …
Water Into Wine: Carrying the Water
John 2:1-11 What are we to do with a story so familiar? Not knowing quite where to begin with its meaning for us, this time through I found myself simply standing still with each of those upon whom the story seems to turn. Or not, as the case may be. I wondered about the mother …
On Stars and a Borrowed Baby Jesus and Making Room
Luke 2:1-20 John 1:1-14 I sit to write on Christmas Eve, trying, and trying again as I have for days, to bring words to the meaning of this day. For myself, of course, yes, but also for those who will gather in a few short hours now. Last Christmas was almost unrecognizable for all that …
Christ the King and Answering ‘The Problem of Evil’
John 18:33-37 For another setting, I have been invited to wonder out loud about how our faith grapples with the ‘problem of evil.’ In other words, how is it that we reconcile evil and suffering in this world with an all powerful, all loving, all knowing God? And is there any better place to begin …
“Take Away the Stone…”
John 11:32-44 I usually start with the ritual as I approach All Saints Sunday, so precious is it to me and to so many. I begin by imagining the candles lit, one after another after another. With the names spoken and the bell tolled, doubled this time through for last year we could not do …