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Showing posts from February, 2018

Divine Things

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 Romans 4:13-25 Mark 8:31-38 It has been said that Mark Twain once said, “It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.” Today is just such a day. It is a day that I stand feeling woefully unworthy of the gospel message. It is a day that I feel torn between a culture that returns violence for violence in an ever escalating and self-perpetuating cycle of death and a message of hope through love and forgiveness that brings life in abundance. So often we seem to be held captive between the choice of honoring life or defending the innocent, as though we cannot do both at the same time. Perhaps that is the cross that stands before us today. Perhaps that tenuous balance between fear and hope is the nexus of faith and action that is staring right at us. Yet this cross – the intersection of human pathos and divine logos ­– is not silent. It shouts at us in the anger of a father whose daughter

What Are You Giving Up?

Genesis 9:8-17      1 Peter 3:18-22      Mark 1:9-15 If you had a time machine, where would you go? Who would you hope to meet? What event would you want to see for yourself? My answer changes depending on when and where I am asked – which is probably true for most of us – but I think today I might like to hear Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech first hand. I might like to see what it was like to have so many people in our nation mobilized under the idea that our human dignity is at stake. I say that because I think that we often forget that the only reason we have a “Black History” month is because we have had years and years of white history. Sure, people of color have been included in our history, but their significance and role has never been acknowledged to its full extent. Likewise, we also forget that the Civil Rights movement was not just for people of color to have rights, but for all of us to recognize our basic humanity in one another. But maybe – in light

Healing In Our Midst

Isaiah 40:21-31      1 Corinthians 9:16-23      Mark 1:29-39 As we begin exploring these passages together, I hope you’ll take a minute to look at the image on your bulletin. It is a pen and ink drawing of the healing of Simon Peter’s Mother-in-law by the Dutch painter, Rembrandt. Several of his paintings were illustra tions of Biblical events. At least one book has been written about the value of reflecting on his work, and while his children were baptized in the Dutch Reformed tradition, he never claimed status in the church. I say all of this because he was a man that has influenced countless others, yet – like many famous artists – he lived a difficult life and died penniless. This was the man behind the paintbrush that gave us this image, and the image reminds me that there is yet healing in the midst of sufferin g. This is the second healing narrative that we’ ve had in a row, if you count exorcism as healing . I have to say that I find the idea of faith healing jus