God Is Partial We will resume taped services on September 19, 2021. Again and again throughout biblical history, God is partial to caring for the poor, the weak, and the outcast. Which is why, perhaps, Jesus’ response to the Syrophoenician woman takes us by surprise: “Let the children be fed first, for it is not…
The Heart of the Matter When clay becomes a pot, it must first have a center. As a potter spins, pushes, and pulls the clay into its final form, it can easily lose its center and become misshapen. Having lost its center, it fails to fully be what it is being created to be—a pot,…
Who Can Accept It? The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” (John 6:60). Jesus’ teaching about eating his flesh and drinking his blood isn’t something we can figure out and accept on our own. In his explanation of the…
You’re Invited The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Today Jesus invites us to a meal. It is an extraordinary invitation to do an ordinary thing: form bonds of love and community through shared food and drink. Like Wisdom inviting us to the feast of insight…
The Greatest Bread The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Jesus uses the image of bread to demonstrate that, even compared to all the great things God has done before, God’s greatest miracle is in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus, the bread of…
From Rumbling Tummies to Living Bread The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Today’s texts move us from rumbling tummies and flaring tempers to a refocusing on the blessings poured out and the primary benefactor. We see the gifts of God, which come in a variety…
Rollin’ in the Dough—and Fishes In recent years many books have been printed that focus on baking vast assortments of breads—from rye to pumpernickel, French to Italian. Today, however, we encounter a bread that points to both a deeper longing, physically and spiritually, and an even more fulfilling outcome than the tastiest assortment of baked…
In today’s gospel the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. When they questioned Jesus, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Gospel: John 8: 1-10 1while Jesus went to the Mount…
In today’s gospel the Samaritan woman asks Jesus for water, an image of our thirst for God. Jesus offers living water, a sign of God’s grace flowing from the waters of baptism. The early church used this gospel to deepen baptismal reflection during the final days of preparation before baptism. As we journey to the…
Ready to Bear Witness The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Where does power come from? The usual answers—family connections, reputation, possessions—are all rejected in this reading from Mark’s gospel. Jesus’ power is not only independent of his family connection—it is hindered by it. While it…