Dressed in layers of flannel and wool to ward off the autumn night’s chill, the grieving faithful gathered along the riverbank for a farewell ritual that bore trappings of a good, old-fashioned Irish wake. They bowed their heads as a clergywoman offered prayer. They raised bubbling flutes of champagne in tribute to auld lang syneContinue reading “A Bridge to Somewhere”
Tag Archives: resurrection
Skin in the Game
Three of the four gospels each includes a version of this morning’s Scripture lesson. When the Holy Spirit moves not one, not two, but three Gospel authors – Matthew, Mark and Luke – to add the exact-same scene to their narratives, that’s a reliable sign that the Spirit is putting divine emphasis on a particularContinue reading “Skin in the Game”
You Remember, Don’t You?
This sanctuary feels so full on Easter Sunday. The smell of fragrant lilies and the sound of alleluia choruses overwhelm the air. The faith community packs the pews, dressed in the spring hues of its “Sunday best,” and the familiar faces of visiting family and friends charge the atmosphere with good holiday energy. Easter SundayContinue reading “You Remember, Don’t You?”
Rest and Growth: The Parable of the Fig Tree
Master gardeners well understand that their plants, trees, and bushes need rest, nutrients, and time – and hungry growers also need their flora to produce fruit and vegetables. Both needs are true in the biology of horticulture – and so also in the discipleship of those who sow, tend, and water their faith. To flourishContinue reading “Rest and Growth: The Parable of the Fig Tree”
Suffering Well
The sinister scene embraces the clickbait ingredients of a viral TikTok video. When the Wise Men from the East innocently ask him about the newborn King of the Jews, Herod’s blood pressure undoubtedly spikes. His Grinch-ly face starts turning beet red, and thick veins commence to popping in his neck. Then, as last Sunday’s ScriptureContinue reading “Suffering Well”
Bitter-Sweet
Complaining, grumbling, and doubting are among the human emotions fueling the plot of our Advent Scripture lessons from the Old Testament book of Exodus, the epic story of the Lord God freeing his people from slavery in Egypt. Their journey to freedom through the Red Sea has been grueling, demanding, and exhausting, and folks areContinue reading “Bitter-Sweet”
Connecting the Dots
The feelings and emotions that change stirs in your heart and mind are expected and understandable. You’re sad, anxious; disappointed, angry. Change challenges truths and understandings once regarded as absolute and unquestionable. Long-held assumptions start to feel flimsy and paper-thin. Time-honored bedrock suddenly feels like all-enveloping quicksand. Like it or not – mostly not, you’veContinue reading “Connecting the Dots”
Enough Already
Words matter, so you need to say it, believe it, and receive it: You are enough. YOU are enough. You ARE enough. You are ENOUGH. If you’re at all like me, you’ve experienced moments, times – or maybe even whole seasons – when you felt as though you weren’t enough. So, just in case youContinue reading “Enough Already”
Trusting God with Our National Sin
As go the lyrics, the songs we love to sing have freedom’s theme. Hence we red-blooded, God-blessed Americans love to croon of freedom and liberty, with words both sacred and secular, when national holidays afford opportunities to “let music swell the breeze and ring from all the trees.” But candidly I’m having a harder andContinue reading “Trusting God with Our National Sin”
Spotting Jesus
Sprinkled across the Gospels are scenes that all play out with similar plots. In the presence of his closest friends and followers – the Twelve Apostles, Jesus does something extraordinary. He cures the sick; he cleanses the unclean; he raises the dead. What for Jesus is the stuff of daily ministry understandably leaves the ApostlesContinue reading “Spotting Jesus”