Fear and Its Friends: A Poem for Lent 1
Sermon Starter Help for RCL Year B 14th Sunday after Pentecost
Here are several sermon starters for RCL Year B 14th Sunday after Pentecost for 8/29/21 preaching. I’m on vacation this week.
Mark
Rest and Renewal: An Issue of Justice
Just because Jesus and the disciples seldom achieved time alone for rest and renewal, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t heed Jesus’ direction. My intention is to take better care of my whole self and not wait until my body protests with extreme fatigue before finding rest. Imagine how the church and the world might change if we made rest and renewal priorities for ourselves and all those around us. If we paid a living wage for all jobs so people could take paid time off… If we had universal healthcare so everyone could have their physical and mental health needs met… If we made social security and disability payments above poverty…
Timbrels at the Ready
They moved from enslavement to liberation
through a parted sea
across a wilderness
and a river.
Miram played her timbrel then.
They packed up what they could carry
while the blood of lambs dried on lintels
and God passed over.
Miram placed her timbrel then.
Reaching for Healing
Healing stories are fascinating, let alone the raising from the dead stories. Our 21st Century minds try to rationalize and minimize the power of such accounts. I know I spent years wishing I could touch Jesus garment and be healed from sickness.
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Last night I had a dream about rowing through marshlands with a from seminary, and as often happens we were in our early 20s not our mid 50s. The marsh was familiar in the dream, though no place I have ever been.
The Mustard Seed, Loving-kindness, and Creation Care
If the realm of God is like the scattering of seeds that sprout mysteriously, I wonder if we are actually doing any of the seed scattering. Or, for that matter, receiving any of the seeds scattered by others.
Observations from Ancient Words
The failure to recognize the obvious
always catches me by surprise.
Long, long ago Samuel told the people of God
that no good could come from the rule of kings.
They insisted on being like all other nations.
And along came the kings
who took their children for soldiers and servants,
their goods and grains for self-serving purposes.
Still, they did not learn.
Celebrating Resurrection
A sense of Resurrection hit me early this year. Yesterday I was able to get a vaccine sooner than I had anticipated. I needed to be in a hospital setting because of my medical conditions and the possibility of an allergic reaction.
All That is Before Us: From Palm Sunday to Easter
Palm Sunday. During pandemic. Again. I’ve heard too many clergy colleagues asking how to preach this Holy Week during pandemic. Sure, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are comparatively easy. How to preach good news on Palm Sunday and even more so on Easter is the repeated question.
Celebrating Transfiguration
Transfiguration Sunday is one of the most unappreciated holy days of the Christian year. In fact, some clergy avoid preaching on this passage because it is a mystery, and a confusing one at that. Yet, the message in the metaphor is one we desperately need on so many levels. This year, especially. Some say that … Read More