A Church in the Marketplace
John 2:13-22 Hardly any church bazaar or bake sale passes without someone making lighthearted reference to this scripture about Jesus at the temple, overturning the tables of the money changers and driving out those who are selling cattle, sheep and doves. Maybe we joke because we don’t quite know what to make of our typically calm friend now in […]
The Rest of the Story
For Sunday, March 1, 2015 – Mark 8:31-38 What a privilege when someone trusts us enough to share “the rest of the story.” And what a responsibility, too. To know someone’s story is to move from being acquaintances on the journey to companions. Ready or not, Jesus begins to reveal to his inner circle the rest of his story—the suffering that lies […]
Wilderness Lessons
For Sunday, February 22, 2015 – Mark 1:9-15 Arising from the waters of his baptism, Jesus hears a voice calling him Beloved. Yet it is the Spirit of this same voice that drives him out into the wilderness for a rigorous 40-day initiation. Haven’t we, too, sometimes sensed a clear calling, only to find ourselves thrust soon after into the […]
Dead or Alive
For Sunday, April 6, 2014 – John 11:1-45 How devastating for someone to die of a curable illness. Even worse, Mary and Martha know that if only Jesus had been where they needed him to be, he could have healed their brother. Where are you, Jesus? Can’t you see how much we need you? We cry out, bereft, struggling under the weight of […]
