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…
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…
Jesus’ Power Is Enough The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Today’s story of two healings in a single reading appears to present a horrific choice: should Jesus hurry to the dying daughter of a rich man, or pause to heal an outcast woman? The urgency…
Who, Then, Is This? Our Only Help. The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. As the disciples set out together in the boat with the sleeping Jesus, a great windstorm arose so that the boat became swamped. As we set out in mission together in the…
The Mystery of Growth In elementary school, when children learn about plants they inevitably plant a small seed in a clear plastic cup and watch it grow. This helps as they learn the parts of plants: leaf, stem, roots. As we get older we get more sophisticated in our ability to explain the details of…
Baptismal Water Is Thicker than Blood Many, perhaps most, subcultures in North America affirm the belief that “blood is thicker than water.” Even when our commitment to family is too often served through hand-wringing sentiment over the so-called decline of the family or pandered to by politicians seeking to prove their “family values” credentials, we…