John 8:31-36 Have you ever had a harder time discerning ‘truth’ than you are having today? Whether it is because leaders appear to no longer have a commitment to speaking anything near unbiased ‘truth’ or ‘truth’ itself is simply so difficult to discern against the seemingly constantly changing landscape which makes up our world, ‘truth’ …
Tag: John
Words of Eternal Life
John 6:56-69 Some of you know that I officiate a lot of funerals. Certainly for members of the congregation I serve, but also sometimes for the seemingly random one who comes to a funeral home to plan a funeral, wanting a religious service, but having no religious community to call upon. I spent time with …
Bread and Wine, Flesh and Blood Revisited…
I have had a week where I have had to tend to urgent family matters, so I have not had a chance to reflect deeply on next week’s Gospel. As I result, I am sharing again the reflection I offered several years ago. If you are led to reflect on the giving and receiving of …
“The Food That Endures…”
John 6:24-35 I find myself tagging along with the crowd today… wondering at what compelled them to keep after Jesus. Oh, Jesus says, and he is probably right, that they are persistent in their pursuit of him because of the free lunch they had just enjoyed. And this rings true, of course, because most of …
All These Broken Pieces: Twelve Baskets Full
John 6:1-21 This time through this familiar story, I find that I am really caught by Jesus telling the disciples to ‘gather up the fragments’ after so many had been fed with a boy’s lunch. Indeed, my imagination deepens when I look more closely at the translation, realizing that these ‘fragments’ are also often described …
As With Nicodemus, So Also With You: God Is Not Done Yet
John 3:1-17 I thought this week I would spend my time elsewhere, but Nicodemus drew me in once more. Oh, I have been wrestling with Nicodemus and his nighttime encounter with Jesus for as long as I can remember. (Go ahead and search John 3:1-17 on this blog and you will get a sampling of …
Living as God’s Beloved Image: In the World, But Not of It
John 17:6-19 “…because they do not belong to the world…” What is it to live by a different set of values? To be governed by different hopes and expectations? To be shaped by another dream altogether: by God’s dream instead of the paltry ones we too often settle for? What is it to NOT belong …
But I Chose You…
John 15:9-17 I have been living in these words for days… wondering about what it means that we are chosen first. And while no metaphor fully works for the call that is placed on our hearts, our lives, by Jesus now, I find myself returning to old stories of being ‘chosen.’ Wondering at how they …
“I am the Vine, You are the Branches…”
John 15:1-8 I pulled my dad’s old garden shovel out of the shed yesterday. I needed to spread some new dirt around in my garden beds as I start to think about planting for another season. And I thought to myself about how something as simple as an old shovel whose handle has been worn …
Welcoming Thomas…
John 20:19-31 I will admit that on this Monday, the day after Easter, my thoughts are not completely formed yet as I consider this second appearance of Jesus to the disciples behind those locked doors. So what I offer now are first thoughts only and I hope that if you also find yourself preaching next …