March 4, 2018
I am struck this morning by our need for order. Our need to organize and systematize and make sense of our world… make sense of ourselves… make sense of God. We don’t like things to be too loosey-goosey. We like things to be clear and understandable. That’s what the temple did for the Jews. It… Read More »
February 18, 2018
There was a reason for the flood. In Genesis 6 it says…The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him… Read More »
February 11, 2018
This is the Sunday of the fantastical and amazing. First, Elijah is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind and a chariot of fire….and then, Jesus is transfigured, changed in form and substance, in front of Peter and James and John — he dazzles them with an unearthly glow, and then Elijah, sans chariot, reappears,… Read More »
January 21, 2018
We had three short scripture readings this morning…but big things were happening in all of them. First we had Jonah…the reluctant prophet, who didn’t want to go to Nineveh, because they were basically violent and corrupt and arrogant…and who ends up there anyway after being spit up from the big fish that swallowed him… Read More »
January 14, 2018
Can you grab your hymnal…the Psalm for today is Psalm 139. They got creative with our hymnal, and decided that since the book of Psalms is the “original hymnal”, the Psalms would be the first 150 hymns in our book. So find Psalm 139 with me. Let’s read the first 12 verses responsively —… Read More »
December 31, 2017
What time is it? How do you know what time it is? Do you wear a watch? Or maybe scan the walls for a clock? Or do you just pull out your phone to check the time? We are a time-obsessed people. We chop our lives up in blocks of time, carved out… Read More »
December 24, 2017
Mary was nearly nine months pregnant when she and Joseph set off toward Bethlehem. I remember being nine months pregnant…some of you may as well.The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem is 100 miles…it would have taken at least a week to walk all that way. This obviously wasn’t a journey they would have chosen. It… Read More »
December 10, 2017
Get you up to a high mountain…lift up your voice and do not fear …be the herald of good tidings and say to the cities…”Here is your God!” Here. Not over there. Not where we used to be or where we wish we were. No…here…Here is your God. These are the good tidings Isaiah… Read More »
November 19, 2017
Don’t you think it’s a little odd that only one slave seems to be worried about the master’s reaction? If he were so harsh and unjust, shouldn’t they all be concerned? All three are given large amounts of money, after all…much larger than slaves would usually be entrusted with. In Jesus’ day, a talent was… Read More »
November 5, 2017
Halloween costume —Steve Garnaas-Holmes Inside that monster there is a lovely child. You know that. Inside every monster is an adorable child. Do you know that? Beneath this suit, that nice outfit, beneath that street-soiled mess, is a precious child. The costumes run deep, of course, and become convincing. But you know… Read More »