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Eight Sunday after Pentecost – Exodus 20.8-11; John 14.25-27; The Peace We Need Is Given – I recently celebrated my 68th birthday. As I got to see my grandchildren on that occasion, it occurred to me that one of the many things grandparents and grandchildren share is their delight in birthdays, albeit for different reasons – grandchildren…
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost – Genesis 28:10-19a; Romans 8:18-25; Surely the LORD is in This Place and I Did Not Know It – I am a parent, as are many of you. Really anyone who has spent a significant amount of time around very young people knows all about developmental stages and the hope and despair…
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost – Matthew 10:29-31; Ezra 2:1-35; Making Lists – When I turned sixteen, my dear Aunt June wanted to do something special for my birthday. My two requests were to visit Washington D.C. and have dinner at a French restaurant. She obliged both. While I found I enjoyed chocolate mousse much more than goose…
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost – Psalm 116:1-13; I Corinthians 11:23-26; The Cup of Salvation – Paul is writing to the Corinthians. A church he knew well seemed to know many of the members of the congregation individually, and therefore, seemed to have a correspondence where he knew what was happening at the church. He writes…
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost – Genesis 21:8-21; Matthew 10:40-42; Sent by Jesus: Seeing the Reward – Our two Bible stories seem opposite in Spirit. Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael alone into the desert wilderness where jackals and bandits prowl. He offers a bottle of water more for his own thirsty conscience than their parched need.…
Third Sunday after Pentecost – Genesis 22:1-19; Matthew 10:24-396; Sent by Jesus: Sharing the Cost – I love it when I get a good deal. Clothes at an outlet on clearance, or my recent favorite TJ Maxx(!), at a fraction of the “normal price”—often leftovers, unpopular styles, rejects. My favorite muesli cereal on a big…
Second Sunday after Pentecost – Genesis 18:1-15; Matthew 9:35-10:16; Sent by Jesus: Finding Our Way – I imagine he pretty much had his way as a young man. Sparkling intelligent eyes and a broad grin. Friendly, confident, charismatic. A leader from his youth, with dreams of grandeur. We know Francesco Bernadone lived extravagantly, generously, bordering…
Trinity Sunday – Genesis 1:1-2:4a; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; Shall We Dance – Our second reading this morning is from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 13, Verses 11 through 13. Here, he writes:”Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order. Listen to my appeal. Agree with one another. Live in peace. And the…
Day of Pentecost – Acts 2:5-21; I Corinthians 12:4-13; The Gift in Being Ourselves – On Pentecost, we celebrate the birth of the church, made real in each individual moved by the Spirit. “I am the church, you are the church …” as our children just sang. The gift of the Spirit lives not in…
Seventh Sunday of Easter – John 17:1-8; Acts 1:1-1, To Tell the Story – Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Laureate, and Holocaust survivor said “God is God because God remembers.” Beyond fleeting thoughts, through living memory the Divine is real in our faithfulness. Wiesel explains: When the great Rabbi Israel Bal Shem Tov saw misfortune threatening the…