When you need a little extra Jesus in your life…what do you do? Go to church? Say a prayer? Call a friend? Head outside? In our gospel reading, the Greeks come and ask to see Jesus. He responds by pointing to plants growing from seeds, and all the places he shows love for his friends, […]
Well before modern vaccines, ancient people knew that sometimes, the cure is found within the illness. Snakebite antidotes are derived from poison, phobias are cured by facing fears, and spiritually, God’s treatment for sin is the cross of Jesus Christ. Through God’s strong, gracious and eternal love, the cross is transformed from a method of […]
Our world doesn’t know what to do with anger. Do we express it? Stifle it? Hide it away? Let it destroy us? Or use it for good? Even Jesus got angry, because he cared deeply for those who were left out. His example can help us come to terms with the anger we see everywhere. […]
Is faith something you have? Or something you live? Are we willing to live out our faith fully, no matter the cost? In our first reading, God asks Abraham to go out on a limb and trust that he and Sarah will have a child. In our gospel, Jesus teaches Peter, the disciples, and everyone […]
Forty days and forty nights. From Noah to Moses to Jesus, to medieval Venice and finally to us, the period of forty days represents struggle and turmoil, but also transformation and new life. (The city-state of Venice was the first to adopt a rule of “quarantine” in the 14th century–forty days of isolation for incoming […]
When everything changes, what do you do? Elisha had to learn how to go on without his mentor Elijah. Peter and James and John had to see Jesus’ glory on the mountain in order to tell others about it after his death and resurrection. We are able to cross the thresholds of life because we […]
Jesus heals a woman when he lifts her up and restores her to community and purpose. Before long, he gains fame as a healer, but decides to go on to the other towns in his area. We, too, are called to work for healing for all people, but also to trust that God will finish […]
Mark’s dramatic gospel features Jesus performing an exorcism in a synagogue…oh yeah, and teaching with authority too, which is impressive in its own right. Jesus “comes in like a wrecking ball” and destroys the things that do nothing but drain the life away from everything. Liberation is always a guiding principle of the kingdom of […]
Who knows what time it is any more? The pandemic has made months seems like years and years like weeks. What time are we in right now? Rep. John Lewis is known to have said, “The time is always right to do right.” In today’s gospel, Jesus says the time is fulfilled and the kingdom […]
We think we know ourselves. We think we know our closest friends and family. We think we know a lot of things. But God knows us better than we know ourselves, all of the things we would rather hide or explain away, and God loves us anyway. And because God knows us completely, God’s voice […]