My reading this week comes from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24, verses 36-48. It reads: 36 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, …
Praise Be to God!
I don't know if this qualifies as a blog post or not, but I wanted to update everyone on where I've been for the past two weeks or so. The short answer is: everywhere! We have just come through Holy Week and Easter, and that by itself is normally stressful enough to send any pastor …
Donkey Knots
The text this week for our upcoming Palm Sunday service is Mark 11:1-11. It reads: When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will …
Unafraid of Dying
I won't be preaching on this text from John 12 this week, but there is a kernel of sublime truth here worth commenting on. Before we get there, let's consider the passage from John 12:20-26: 20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21 They came to Philip, who was from …
He Is Lifted, He Is Lifted Indeed! II
In my last post, I said that we would finish John 3:11-21 with the consideration of God's redemption of the world, or as I phrase it, the entirety of the created order. Here, again, is my translation of verses 16 through 21: 16 “For God loved the world in this way: he gave his only Son, so …
He Is Lifted, He Is Lifted Indeed!
There are two texts I am dealing with these week, one the prominent text from the Gospel of John and the other a text from Numbers meant to give context to what John is saying about Jesus. Here is the text from John 3:11-21. You will notice I enlarge the lectionary reading so as to …
Casting Out, Raising Up II
In my previous post, I made several points. One, we should be very careful about how we approach rendering "of the Jews" in verse 13. Jesus was a Jew, headed to the Temple to observe Passover. We cannot read this passage as supersessionist as if Jesus intended to do away with the covenants given to …
Casting Out, Raising Up
My text this week is John 2:13-25. My slightly altered translation reads: 13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he cast all of them out of the …
Be Lost In The Call
I want to share with you a poem I read this evening by the famous Persian poet Rumi (Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī ) entitled "Be Lost In the Call," translated by Kabir Helminski: Lord, said David, since you do not need us, why did you create these two worlds? Reality replied: O prisoner of time, I was …
The Edge of Grace
In reading an essay entitled "A Siamese Connexion with a Plurality of Other Mortals" by Scott McVay, I was struck by a poem the author included: I am currently working on a paper for my doctoral course work in Science and Theology. My hope is that our theology will continue to expand in perspective to …
Samuel Weddington 