Saul, the persecutor, Saul, the pharisee, this very Saul is on the verge to becoming Paul the believer, Paul the apostle, Paul the founder of churches throughout the Roman world. And all this stemming from a momentous event on the road to Damascus, where Paul discovers that the one he is destined to be is not the one he thought he was destined to be.
Read MoreWhat was really going on in Thomas’ mind and heart? What goes on in our own minds when we hear the fantastic and unreal? We first think the story teller is maybe a little off, or a little bit stressed to the point of being a little touched in the head.
Read MoreThis morning I want to talk about the suspending our disbelief for a little while. Really, to be a Christian is a gutsy thing. I mean, basically, we claim that there was this amazing person who walked on this earth, was born in a very special way and lived like you and me…
Read MoreYou might not believe it, but even if you don’t believe it, the story of Jesus is one filled with hope that is as strong as a single flickering candle being blown in a bit of a breeze but stays lit. This evening in our rituals, we enact this light of life coming into the world.
Read MoreMaundy Thursday… This was the last meal Jesus would share with his beloved disciples. He was grateful yet he was so afraid. He asked for his brothers to watch with him for one hour tonight. Will you watch with him this night?
Read MoreSo, was Judas right? Would it not have been truer to the spirit of Christ to sell the pound of perfume for three hundred denarii --- a lot of money in those days --- and distribute the money to the poor? Yet Jesus puts Judas down, telling him, “Leave her alone.” And what are we to make of how Jesus’ justifies Mary’s, perhaps impetuous, act: “You always have the poor with you,” Jesus says, “but you do not always have me.” Not exactly a response in keeping with Jesus’ spirit of humility. A little uncharacteristic.
Read More“You’re in TROUBLE! I’m tellin’…!!! Dad! It’s not fair! He punched me first me first!!! “Jennie Anderson, you are to report to the principal’s office immediately!” Rev. Anderson, this is the bishop’s office and we need you to call the bishop as soon as possible… you’re in so much trouble…
Read MoreWhen I think of Jesus’ temptations, I think of a line in the Lord’s Prayer, one that’s been puzzling me for fifty years now, and that line is: “Our Father in heaven … lead us not into temptation.” I’m puzzled as to why God would, as this prayer suggests, lead us into temptation, or, at the least, allow us to be led into temptation.
Read MoreHere on the edge of Lent, as we turn with Jesus toward Jerusalem and the mount of Calvary, we pause on another mountain for one of those "peak experiences" as sought-after by post-Enlightenment, scientifically minded folks as by those who call themselves "post-modern." What is that about, that deep human longing to taste, however briefly, the transcendence of God?
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