If Peter’s vision taught that the followers of Christ could eat any food and maybe didn’t need to follow all the laws of Judaism, does it give any indication of how to resolved the ever-widening divisions of today?
Many of us are half asleep and may even feel half dead under the weight of recent years, and the fear of what is to come. Between grief and fear we could fall under the power of apathy or ambivalence. We might believe that what we say and do won’t make a difference and, thereby, keep doing nothing.
Jesus is still with us asking, “Do you agape me?” The church has yet to say, “Yes, Lord, I agape you and will nurture all that is yours without condition.”
Do not demand agape, a deep, transforming love, if what is on offer is phileos, a binding, affectionate love. An Epiphany 5C sermon starter.
Have you ever spent an inordinate amount of time on something only to have it prove fruitless? This has been my week. Between my risk for COVID and a stress fracture, it has been weeks since I’ve been able to go anywhere.
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
There’s not a lot of raising up happening, at least not in my neighborhood. I’m not even sure there are folx waiting for the Lord. I don’t think we know and we’ve dismissed so much of what we have heard. Sure, we might say that God is the Creator of all that is. I’m just … Read More
Anyone remember the story of Moses and the burning bush? It isn’t really the cute children’s story we might have learned in Sunday School. And it isn’t one of those stories that had meaning then and is unclear for today. With the shooting of Jacob Blake last week and the Uprisings in Minneapolis last night, … Read More
Those little purple faces poking up next to the sidewalk on my way out of church on Sunday were nearly my undoing. Not exactly the color purple in a field, but I noticed. I saw them innocently reaching for the sun, the first of spring flowers I’ve seen this year. And, yes, I thanked God … Read More
Peter may have had a learning disability and Paul may have had MS. For some people these suppositions might be distressing or unnerving. For me, they are comforting and hopeful. If God could use Paul and Peter, not in spite of their disabilities, but through them, then there is hope for me, for you, for … Read More
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