It may feel rather backwards chronologically, but our gospel for today doesn’t come from one of the post-resurrection Easter appearances of Jesus, but from his final conversation with the disciples on Maundy Thursday. It was written however, for a community that was surely in need of Jesus’ good words.
It may feel rather backwards chronologically, but our gospel for today doesn’t come from one of the post-resurrection Easter appearances of Jesus, but from his final conversation with the disciples on Maundy Thursday. It was written however, for a community that was surely in need of Jesus’ good words.
In Through the Looking Glass, the Queen says to Alice, “I’m just one hundred and one, five months and a day.” “I can’t believe that!” said Alice. “Can’t you?” the Queen said in a pitying tone. “Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.” Alice laughed. “There’s no use trying,” she said: “one…
Like many of the Hebrew psalms, the twenty-third is attributed to King David. Since he was a shepherd in his youth, it makes for a good story, but scholars can’t say for sure who wrote the song.
I believe that words are important and powerful. Not in a magical way, but in their ability to name and declare something for what it truly is or might be.
For centuries, people have told this story and talked about Thomas like he was some kind of loser. Doubting Thomas! It’s never meant as a compliment. And it’s really not fair. Our English translations of the text have done Thomas a disservice.
Sometimes I think that we have lost track of how incredible the story of Easter really is. We celebrate it every year. It comes right on schedule. Its date is carefully connected to the cycle of the Moon. And so we make our preparations. We set the decorations. But are we truly mindful of the…
Even stranger are the thoughts that God reveals in the gospel for today. Jesus predicts his own suffering and death. And resurrection, too, although the crowd gathered doesn’t seem to hear that – they are so distressed by the thought of Jesus suffering and dying. Then Peter, the self-appointed leader of the disciples, took that…
In some things I am “all in.” Our lessons today let us know what causes God to go “all in.” Under what circumstances will God jump in.
This season of Epiphany has been about revealing who Jesus is. Revealing God’s desires, God’s plans. Like putting together a 1,000 piece puzzle, we have seen little bits of the picture of God’s desires revealed.