Baptism – Saved or Called?
Baptism: Saved or Called? All four gospels begin their stories of Jesus’ ministry with his baptism. In today’s gospel reading Jesus has come, along with many others, to be baptized by John. And Luke tells us that When Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. Luke 3:21-22 The book of Acts tells of other baptisms – of all the people who were…
Doubting Deeper
John 20:19-31 Today I want to talk about doubt. Thomas doubted. Just like my friend who said, “I’ll believe in God when he answers my prayers,” Thomas wanted proof. But when given the opportunity he drew back. Why? Because it wasn’t what he expected. He didn’t really want to put his hands in Jesus’ side. He just wanted the uncertainty to go away. We are uncomfortable with not-knowing. We want to know So we don’t often talk about doubt and…
Mary didn’t know it was Easter
Mary is in shock. Something is terribly wrong. She has been distraught since Friday and now she is finally able to go to the tomb where the remains of her beloved Jesus are… and they’re not there. And in her grief she sees Jesus but she does not recognize him. This week we have witnessed the shock and horror of a terrorist attack in Brussels. People just going about their regular lives suddenly had everything turned upside down. Lives lost,…
But for the Grace of God
Luke 13:1-9 Public executions used to be a spectator sport. Even today we are all fascinated by a good disaster – as long as it’s happening to something else. Disaster and scandal sell magazines and newspapers and keep news shows in business. This human tendency to be interested in bad news was as prevalent in Jesus’ day as it is now. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is asked, “Did you hear about the Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with…
Inner & Outer Journeys
Self Examination in Lent During these 40 days of Lent we follow Jesus in the Gospel readings as he makes his way toward Jerusalem and the Cross. Every year in these days before the Feast of Easter, the church invites us to a season of self examination. –How are we doing on our own journeys? both the inner dimension that we experience in our inner lives, our hearts, souls, and bodies? – and the outer dimension that we travel on…
Remember Who You Are
We began the season of Epiphany with the baptism of Jesus and this morning, the First Sunday in Lent, we get a flashback to what happened next. Jesus spent a long period of time in the desert, fasting and preparing for his ministry. And while he was there he was confronted by the sin matrix personified in the devil aka Satan. Some people get very bothered by the idea of Satan – they can’t wrap themselves around the medieval Satan…
What do you see?
This morning is the last Sunday in the season of Epiphany – the season of the revelation of Christ – this coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday when we start to prepare for the bittersweet events of Holy Week and the great mystery of Easter. Since the date of Easter Sunday varies from year to year depending upon the moon, the number of Sundays in Epiphany also varies from year to year. But two of those Sundays always have the same…
A Call to Transformation
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a Luke 4:14-21 I. A Renewal of the Covenant A. On this 3rd Sunday of Epiphany in Year C of our three year cycle of scripture readings we hear for the one and only time from the Book of Nehemiah. So, it may help to highlight it today briefly. 1. The book narrates the time of Israel following their return to their homeland after years of captivity in Babylon. 2. In Babylon, Nehemiah, a prominent…
The Wedding Banquet
1 Corinthians 12:1-11 John 2:1-11 I’ve always been in awe of quilters. Their ability to construct beauty from small bits of fabric amazes me. Ann-Lining Smith, an amazing quilter who also happens to be an Episcopal priest and who often took our services in the interim period before Mary Elizabeth was called as rector, made us the three quilted hangings for the Long Green Season. When I visited Ann-Lining in the middle of her creative process, she was surrounded by…
Encountering the Christ
Matthew 2:1-12 A few weeks ago we read some of Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth and I mentioned that some scholars think we can look at these early stories as a kind of prologue to the gospel itself; a narrative that sets out the key theme of the gospel. Today we hear from Matthew. Matthew starts with a genealogy to show that Jesus was descended from Abraham and then David through the male line even though he too makes it…