Oct. 7, 2018 Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12 Mark 10:2-16   Here’s how one of my commentaries begins its reflection on Mark 10:2-16: “She did not look like a Pharisee. She appeared harmless: a flowered-print dress, short in stature, glasses too large for her rounded face.  I thought she was going to welcome me to the church.  […]

Sept. 2, 2018 Song of Solomon 2:8-13 Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23   I told you about Debie Thomas last week. She blogs on the lectionary passages, and so far I have to say I haven’t read a thing by her that’s failed to leave me at least little better off than I was before.  This […]

Feb. 4, 2018 1 Cor. 9:16-23 Mark 1:29-39   I always wonder what you hear when we read the scriptures. What are the sticking points or the questions that might enter your mind as we hear these brief snippets of the bible?  I think about this question as I prepare my sermons. If you are […]

Jan. 14, 2018 Psalm 139 John 1:43-51   “’In the beginning was… well, what? A clap of the divine hands and a poetic shock wave?  Or, an itchy node of nothingness inconceivably scratching itself into somethingess?  In the beginning was the ‘Word,’ says the Gospel according to John – a lovely statement of the case, […]

Nov. 5, 2017 Psalm 107 Matthew 23:1-12   I’ve said it before, but more and more I find these times to be incredibly confusing and unsettling.  It’s our government, it’s our foreign relations, it’s the lack of civil discourse in society, it’s alternative facts and increasing polarization, it’s environmental degradation, it’s the degradation of community, […]

Oct. 2, 2016 Luke 17:5-10   Week after week, it seems, Luke is throwing difficult passages our direction. Today’s passage could be read in a couple of different ways.  Likely, we’ve heard the disciples ask for more faith, and we’ve heard Jesus reply in disgust, “You know, if you only had this much faith you […]

Sept. 18, 2016 Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 Luke 16:1-13   Today’s scriptures leave us either utterly depressed or utterly confused. First, there is Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet.  “My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick.”  There’s deep sadness in this passage, there’s compassion, and anger, and a sense that it is […]

July 24, 2016 Luke 11:1-13 Chip W. sent me a link to this story by Auburn Sandstrom, which I’ll try to summarize this morning. It is called, “A Phone Call” because it was at two in the morning while cradled desperately in her bed that Auburn dials the number that her mother had once given […]

Amos 7:7-17 Mindfulness is big right now. If you Google it you’ll see how it can help you “stay simple in a complex world.” It can help you “launch your career.” It can help you “become a better parent.” All that came up in just 10 seconds of searching. We have a friend who is […]

June 26, 2016 Gal. 5:1, 13-25 Luke 9:51-62      I have a regret that still nags at me a bit. A woman from a former church came to me in crisis.  It wasn’t the usual kind of crisis though – no one was hurt, nothing lost.  It was a spiritual crisis, a beautiful crisis of […]