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 …
Tag: John
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 …
On Seeds and Growth and Death and Life and Seeing Jesus: Standing in the Mystery
John 12:20-33 Truth be told, I am just standing still in the mystery this week. Wondering how it is that some see Jesus and others simply can’t yet. And about this tenuous chain of witnesses from Philip to Andrew and finally to Jesus. Wondering how it is that a seed actually works… and why it …
God’s Invitation: On Light and Lightness
John 3:14-21 Now I know all the arguments for not equating darkness with ‘evil.’ I agree with them and I have carried my deep awareness with me as I write today. It’s just that these words from John speak of light and darkness, which I also understand as lightness and heaviness today. So forgive me …
Cleaning Out The Temple: Making Way For God To Do a New Thing
I Corinthians 1:18-25 John 2:13-22 This is surely one of those weeks when the lessons not only compliment one another, they deepen and expand our understanding of their meaning. For in the one we hear Jesus saying there is a new, another way, which will find its truest form in his death and resurrection. And …
Called by Name For This Time…
I Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20) John 1: 43-51 I was driving home from some time away this week-end. If you have ever headed north on Highway 65 through Alabama, perhaps you have seen it, too. It’s a billboard shouting the threat: “Go to church or the devil will get you!” The words are in bold black …
No Plastic Jesus Here: The Word Became Flesh
I am taking an overdue break after a most unusual year in ministry and so I offer these thoughts on ‘the Word become flesh’ from several years ago. I have to say, I got a little misty remembering our traditional gatherings in the barn on Christmas Eve for this year the pandemic kept us from …
All Together in One Place…
Acts 2:1-21 John 20:19-23 “When the day of Pentecost had come, the apostles were all together in one place…” (Acts 2:1) “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ …