5 Pentecost, Proper 8 – July 2, 2023 Matthew 10:40-42 When Jesus sent his disciples out into the world to share the good news of God’s kingdom, he sent them out as vulnerable outsiders. They had no religious institutions to back their efforts. No political tools to wield. No cultural capital to spend. They […]
3 Pentecost, Proper 6 – June 18, 2023 Matthew 9:35-10:23 There is a LOT in our gospel reading this morning! Do you remember the Peanuts cartoons? And Lucy. Lucy, the psychiatrist of Peanuts fame, who sits waiting in her booth. Frieda comes seeking help. “My problem is that I’m afraid of kindergarten. I don’t […]
2 Pentecost, Proper 5 – June 11, 2023 Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 Cheat. Collaborator. Greedy. Shameful. That’s how people saw Matthew as he took in money dishonestly, unjustly, there in his little booth. Tax collection appeared on the lists of despised occupations that no practicing Jew should follow. People like Matthew were regarded as lost […]
Trinity Sunday – June 4, 2023 Matthew 28:16-20 and Genesis 1:1-2:4a Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday on our church calendar. Trinity Sunday invites us to celebrate an idea. A theological abstraction that’s beyond our understanding. The one in three and three in one. And you may ask, “Why should I care about the concept […]
Pentecost – May 28, 2023 John 20:19-23 Consider creation. Genesis tells us that God made humanity from two ingredients. One is dust, mud, dirt, the stuff we find outside under our feet. God shapes us from this earthy clay like a kid making a mud pie. But, the Creator does not stop there. God breathes […]
Quilting Stories
6 Easter – May 14, 2023 John 14:15-21 The word “in” is a tiny word. It seems as if it should not matter all that much. But today we hear Jesus promising to be “in” the people who keep his commandments and promising that the disciples will be “in” him too. So, is Jesus […]
5 Easter – May 7, 2023 John 14:1-14 Our gospel reading this morning is one that is often read at funerals, and for good reason. It is comforting in the face of the death of a loved one. But this piece of scripture is not only about life after death, it is a text […]
4 Easter – April 30, 2023 John 10:1-10 This morning John’s gospel gives us ten verses of packed metaphor; we are given sheep, a sheepfold, a shepherd, a gate, a gatekeeper, a pasture, a sneaky band of thieves and bandits, and an even more sinister group of smooth-tongued “strangers.” This passage though, at it’s […]
3 Easter – April 23, 2023 Luke 24:13-35 Today, Luke’s gospel has us walking on the road to Emmaus. This scene is set on the same day as the women’s discovery of the empty tomb from Easter. The scripture tells us that this was about a seven-mile walk. Not really that far in those […]