Wednesday, March 18, 2020 | Reflections
I met Sarah one summer, just as she began to process some horrible childhood events. We walked many, many miles together on those summer evenings. I listened as Sarah shared every last detail of her stories. With an ordained friend, we shared eucharist one evening. As...
Tuesday, March 17, 2020 | Reflections
What God reveals in Jesus is not a new idea or something wholly different from ways God has acted before. God has been at the same work all along. Today’s psalm is full of the stories of God’s provision, compassion, and presence through history. In our g….(View...
Monday, March 16, 2020 | Reflections
In reading this story about the privileged and the poorest, we have much to learn from both angles of view: one lesson is to comprehend the power of God in Jesus as generative and nurturing. Another perspective—as I heard one woman say—The beauty of standing up is...
Sunday, March 15, 2020 | Reflections
The theological dialogue between Jesus and this unnamed Samaritan woman is a beautiful example of the compassionate inclusivity of the One whose kingdom is coming and is already among and with us. Jesus engages with someone that his family and religio-cultural...
Saturday, March 14, 2020 | Reflections
Some of us in more “advanced” parts of the world forget the deep mystery of the miraculous, especially when it comes to healings and exorcisms. Mark describes four exorcisms and refers to many more, showing us the ways Jesus points to the cosmic battle with Satan....
Friday, March 13, 2020 | Reflections
Jesus is telling us parables about how faith is planted and grown, fed mysteriously with the light, soil, and water of God’s being. The disciples hear these parables and are a part of the inner circle that hears the secrets of the kingdom explained privately....
Thursday, March 12, 2020 | Reflections
From the Archives: January 20, 1982A great deal of what passes for Evangelism in America is in fact Revival. The author of Hebrews would not think much of this. Here, the author expresses the conviction that rehearsing the ABC’s of Christi….(View this reading...
Wednesday, March 11, 2020 | Reflections
Parables present us with glimpses into the kingdom of God, where the ordinary of our lives throws light on the extraordinary. Jesus says that his disciples know the secret gift of the kingdom; they see it in his miracles, hear it in his teaching, and feel it in his...
Tuesday, March 10, 2020 | Reflections
Today we hear the scribes from Jerusalem mistake the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of Jesus as being demonic. The scribes recognize that Jesus must be drawing on great power to perform exorcisms but then gravely misidentify its source. Jesus does not behave as they...
Monday, March 9, 2020 | Reflections
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is a letter of exhortation and pastoral counsel written in his apostolic authority and drawing attention to his example and conventional wisdom. He uses every way he can to talk to the proud Corinthians—reprimand, irony, even...
Sunday, March 8, 2020 | Reflections
The meaning of faith is woven throughout our readings today. Faith—not works—marks our response to God who loves us. Faithful grace and graceful faith are how we are to live in the knowledge of the companionship of Jesus. The One who shows us God’s grace is the One...
Saturday, March 7, 2020 | Reflections
Sabbath: a day of religious observance and abstinence from work. That’s the dictionary definition at least, but Genesis shows us the connection between sabbath as gift and rest, given to us by our Creator. Sabbath is a time to be renewed as people of God, a time to...
Friday, March 6, 2020 | Reflections
Alongside all the stories of Jesus’ healing encounters with the sick in body, mind, and spirit are all the questions of others who just don’t get it. These are people who want to draw back from this disturbance to their worldview, education, or their own place and...
Thursday, March 5, 2020 | Reflections
From The Archives: October 31, 1964God’s demands on Judah are simple and basic. They had been revealed to the three former prophets of the eighth century BCE who preceded Micah. Amos stands for a righteousness as sharp and clear as that wh….(View this reading...
Wednesday, March 4, 2020 | Reflections
Modern life has given us many advances and new problems. While some rural communities might still see the church as central to the community, intergenerational change and the busyness of our lives has generally moved the focus of community life outside of the church....
