Whatever logic there is to the Revised Common Lectionary (the preaching schedule followed by a lot of mainline Protestant churches), part of it seems to be to skip over passages that are tough to preach on, even when they are well known verses. One of those came up last week. ___________________________ Ginger and I were…
It’s been a long week and I am late posting my sermon from last Sunday as I continue through the Sermon on the Mount; this week, Matthew 7:1-6. The translation I used read this way: “Don’t write people off, so that you won’t be written off. You’ll receive the same judgment you give. Whatever you…
Even though I didn’t follow the lectionary this week, the timing of my sermon couldn’t have been better. The daffodils are just coming into bloom and I was bouncing off of Jesus’ admonition to pay attention to the flowers. Here’s where it took me. _________________________ Last week, as we gathered at the empty tomb, we…
Here’s my sermon from Easter Sunday. _________________________________ Because I grew up Africa in countries that were British colonies, I primarily learned European history in school. My history teacher in seventh grade at the Lusaka International School was Ms. White, who was a rather intimidating British woman. One of the things I remember learning about from…
Every once in a while, the onslaught of uninvited suggestions on social media offers something that is useful. I am not sure why this particular reel showed up, since I have not talked out loud about either yogurt or bagels in front of my smart phone, but it captured my attention. I then went looking…
little lizzy! I don’t know what to make of your absence how to not feel your presence a life lived at the speed of joy how one little body could hold so much exuberance and expectancy always trusting that we would join you in the dance we’re here today but you stayed in Sunday afternoon…
Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body,” which set me thinking about the differences between looking and seeing and the meaning we make from both. _________________________ All this week, as I have been contemplating our passage for today, I’ve been thinking about the differences between looking and seeing. Describing those differences is…
“Where our treasure is, there will our heart be also” is among the Bible verses I first learned. This time around it hit me in new ways as I thought about how things connect us to one another and made some interesting connections of my own. _______________________ Because all of us on our church staff…
grief biscuits I saw the leftovers when I opened the fridge two baked sweet potatoes missed or ignored but not yet past their usefulness so I made some biscuits because I needed to make something of today in the face of war and the hunger of dead friends you can’t make a biscuit without getting…
Following the admonition to love our enemies, Jesus’ focus in the Sermon on the Mount turned to what motivates our actions, and particularly our piety—another way of reminding us that life and faith are team sports. ______________________________ As I stand here this morning with my folder and my manuscript to guide me through the next…