Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Parables don’t tell us what to do, or how to behave – they tell us something of the nature of God. It is important to remember this as we read the parable of the father…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. We are in Lent, and once again Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. This is the course we saw set when he traveled down the mountain after the Transfiguration, and though much happens along…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Today we read what is probably Jesus’ most famous sermon. Commonly called the beatitudes, it’s found in slightly different forms in both Matthew and here in Luke. As with so much of scripture, the differences in…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Author Madeleine L’Engle once wrote, “I take the Bible too seriously to take it all literally.”[1] As I read scripture, I often pair that quote in my head with this thought, which I heard expressed at…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. One of the things it took me years to do is pay attention to all the stories in the Gospels where Jesus acts very human. Those times when he yells or loses his patience, when he…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Yes, we just heard the Magnificat twice – reading it together as the Canticle and then hearing it as a part of the Gospel. This scripture, oddly enough, is the focus of an opinion piece in…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Nothing says 9 days till Christmas quite like John the Baptist’s proclamation, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” and the dire warnings that follow. J I…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Read again with me the final sentence from today’s Gospel reading from Luke – Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every hill shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Everything has changed again – we’re now surrounded by blue! Happy New Year everyone, as we begin the season of Advent today. Every year as we enter Advent, I am struck by how counter-cultural a…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Every scripture reading today has depths to mine and relevance to our lives, but I’ve been excitedly waiting since August, when I sat down to make my seasonal sermon prep chart with notes for all…