Who are you, really? Underneath all the things others think about you…who is the real you? Jesus meets a woman at a well, a woman whose real identity has been covered by layers of unfair assumptions and labels and judgments throughout the centuries. But he knows the real her, and loves her, and accepts her, […]
The winds of change are blowing in our readings today, as God tells Abram and Sarai to pick up everything and go to a new land, and Jesus and Nicodemus have a deep conversation about faith and spiritual rebirth. Questions can be tools for opening the door to deeper love, trust and understanding…even (and especially) […]
Who do you think you are? The answer to that question says a lot about why you do what you do. In today’s readings, we hear about Adam and Eve as well as Jesus facing questions of identity. Will you construct a new identity for yourself based on your fears and frailties? Or will we […]
“The Truth must dazzle gradually, / Or every man be blind.” We like to think we can handle the truth, but these words from Emily Dickinson set us straight. In today’s gospel, Jesus is revealed as God’s beloved Son, echoing the words at his baptism. This truth is revealed in dazzling glory and the loud, […]
Jesus has some tough words for us today about what God calls us to do. If we try to follow God’s ways, it will be impossible for us to fit into the world. But this is what it means to be salt and light in the world. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we […]
Salt and light. That’s what Jesus says: “You are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world.” Notice he does not give a list of things to do in order to be salt and light. If you are a follower of Jesus, a citizen of God’s reign, then you already are these […]
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 […]
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 […]