(Confirmation Sunday)

 

 

Wisdom. To do the "wise thing…" we say.

 

Isn’t that what we all want?

 

From the day you were born – Alyssa, Peter, Adam and Claire – this is likely what your parents and grandparents have always wanted and wished – and probably also worried about -- for you: that as...

This past week as I was going over the lectionary readings, I found myself being drawn to the Apostle Paul’s words in the Book of Romans that speak of suffering, and ultimately, hope. I was probably drawn to those words because my own understanding of hope has been challenged recently. There are two stories I would like to share with you...

Reading through this passage in the book of Acts 2:1-21 – about the Holy Spirit coming upon those disciples, unifying and enlivening them to carry forward the ministry of Jesus – do you notice the positive energy just brimming in this story?

So much life and goodness just bubbling over:

Followers of Jesus, once divided over language...

Acts 16:16-34

This snapshot we have today of Paul’s ministry adventures in the Middle East has it all!
From a boisterous fortune teller, to a fortuitous earthquake!
It’s a breathtaking story.

And this is what I notice about it:
Like the call to Paul and Silas, the call of God is one that involves motion, movement, a going forth, a...

Last Sunday I spoke about the difficulty – in fact the impossibility – of speaking about God in exacting terms – talking about God in any definitive, unambiguous way … as if we can comprehend fully and nail down completely our concept of God.

And, of course, while we do know something very important about God through the...

Where would the church be without Women of Faith? 

So, the religious leaders gather around Jesus, and say to him: “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Tell us plainly.

Indeed.
How much we all prefer “plain-talkers” – people who just tell it straight, to tell it like it is, not to beat around the bush, but just say it...

Do you ever notice how mysterious dusk and dawn often are in the Bible? It seems that there is something particularly sacred about these transitional times of day. The Easter journey is full of key events at these particular times, Peter denying Jesus as the rooster crows, Jesus is hurried down from the cross before the Sabbath sun sets, Jesus...

Doubting Thomas. It seems that Thomas the Twin often gets a bad rap. He is set up as an easy punching bag in this Gospel reading. How could he not believe the disciples when they told him Jesus dropped in? I wonder if they had April Fool’s Day back then. It seems like a pretty good set up. Perhaps Thomas drew the short straw and was sent...

Well, I for one am glad it’s Easter Sunday – for many different reasons.

What with this recent ice storm, it seems we’ve been through a long, grey, wearying winter.

And Holy Week prior to Easter – with its tough and gritty emotions surrounding the suffering, torture and death of Jesus – all of that just beats us...