Cause and effect helps us understand a lot about the world, but even cause and effect breaks down sometimes. Bad things happen to good people and vice versa. But bad things are not a sign of God’s punishment, or even the lack of God’s presence. In this introduction to the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus […]
Decision after decision…life is full of choices to make, sometimes overwhelmingly so. How do you weigh your options and choose what seems best? Jesus and his prospective disciples both have some big choices to make in today’s gospel reading. What prompts them to make the decisions that lead them down that road by the sea? […]
What are you looking for? The answer to that question reveals a lot about who you are and what drives you. Everyone seems to be looking for Jesus to be something special in today’s gospel reading, but he focuses on seeing and knowing his first disciples. By being fully seen and fully known, we are […]
In winter’s deepest night, we welcome the light of the Christ child. Isaiah declares that the light of the long-promised king will illumine the world and bring endless peace and justice. The angels declare that Jesus’ birth is good and joyful news for everyone, including lowly shepherds. Filled with the light that shines in our […]
The night is almost here! With Christmas only a week away, today the children take a turn as the preachers as they bring us the good news of Jesus’ birth through drama, story and song. The youngest among us tell the beloved story of how another child, a very special child, came into the world […]
At the heart of our Advent preparation stands John the Baptist, who calls us to repent and make a new beginning. As the darkness increases we turn toward the approaching light of Christ. For Christians, Jesus is the root of Jesse, the righteous judge who welcomes all, especially the poor and meek of the earth. […]
It has been said before that all human beings are storytellers. It is human nature to mine our past for nuggets of meaning, melt them down and reshape them into tools for building the future. Our reading from Isaiah talks about a time when all the nations will take weapons of death and reshape them […]
Kings are the stuff of legends and history in the U.S., complete with riches and power and glory. But Jesus is a totally different kind of king. The end of the church year is marked with the festival of Christ the King, when we celebrate and give thanks that Christ is greater than all earthly […]
Does the world just seem…different now? Harsher, angrier, quicker to judge? You’re not the only one feeling it. Jesus has some difficult words for the disciples to hear about how bad things can get, but there is an end in sight. All earthly things will pass away, but God’s presence with God’s people will never […]
When politics gets involved, questions rapidly turn into weapons. We see this all the time as we near Election Day, but it was true in the Bible too. Jesus takes the Sadducees’ somewhat ridiculous question and turns it into good news about what happens in the resurrection: no one is ever separated from God, even […]