People really do not like this parable! It flies in the face of everything we think is fair; it negates our belief that hard work pays off; it convicts us with that last line “…are you envious because I am generous?” If Frederick Buechner and Lindsey are right, and parables are like jokes that Jesus … read
An oyster makes a pearl because some sort of irritant has entered the shell, so that irritant must be covered with nacre, that luminous coating that we string into necklaces. A child enters the world only through the painful contraction of muscles and the expulsion from the comforting, safe waters of the womb into a … read
Do you ever feel like someone starts talking with you but they start in the middle of a conversation? Take today’s passage from the beginning of Romans 12. In that first verse Paul uses the word “therefore” which makes it seem like we’ve missed something. So let me sum up the first eleven chapters of … read
Last week, if you were in worship, you might have noticed that our esteemed clerk of session, Jan Poujade, came up during the prelude to tell me something. I’d like to share with you a story about what had happened. Before worship began, a few of our folks noticed a young man in the front … read
This is a sermon about the nature of God and the nature of discipleship. You might have to listen closely. Jesus is having a day, that’s for sure. His disciples have just told him about the death of his cousin John, which means the disciples are having a day, too. They were the ones who … read
It might be a hazard of the modern mind to think that we of the 20th and 21st centuries are so much smarter than those who lived a few hundred or a few thousand years ago. Certainly, we know more in terms of science and technology. But we didn’t invent languages or alphabets; we didn’t … read