Rev. Zach

Jeremiah 1:4-10       Psalm 71:1-6        Hebrews 12:18-29        Luke 13:10-17 Well, it’s soccer season again, or it’s about to be. I have been coaching my son’s team for three seasons, and it looks like this is the first season that we will have most of the same players as the previous season – even though the last season was our least successful. I’m hopeful for a good season, and I’m learning a lot from these boys. Mostly I am remembering things that I have forgotten. Not just technical skills, but things like the idea that a great effort is a success. These kids don’t have the technical skills figured out yet, and so a good effort means a good result. It would be nice if more of the world worked that way. I’m not saying that we should not try to achieve results, or that working harder is better than working smarter. I am saying that sometimes we put so much emphasis on results that we forget about the reasons that motiva...

Genesis 1:1-2:3     Romans 8:22-28     Luke 9:23-27 As we approach the anniversary of the birth of our congregation, I am aware that there are a few other anniversaries around this time of year. Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005 – followed by her sister Rita on September 26, 2005. These were two of the deadliest storms in our nation’s history, and although Lafayette is presently in a state of growth, the region will feel their impact for generations to come. Of course we also remember the tragedy of September 11, 2001, with the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentegon, and UA Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. The ripples of these events continue to ebb and flow around the world. As some of the military campaigns that have attempted to respond to these tensions come to a close, our society will begin to see more and more displaced veterans with their families. Perhaps it is something about the change of seasons, but it seems that the world is...

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20     Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23     Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16     Luke 12:32-40 The scripture passages we have received today remind me of the relatively modern invention of the Choose Your Own Adventure books. If you have not experienced this genre of children’s literature, each book has a central theme and puts the reader as a first person narrator in the story. At certain points the reader must choose what to do next and turn to the corresponding page (which is not necessarily the next page). The story continues until another choice is required, and the same pattern continues until you reach the end of a story line – whether by peril or success – depending on your choices as the reader. I tell you this because I think there is a fairly simplistic story line that can be read out of these passages, and there are more complex threads to find if you are willing to “follow the white rabbit” as both Lewis Carrol and the Matrix invite u...

Hosea 11:1-11 Colossians 3:1-11 Luke 12:13-21 I have been told that I am a non-linear thinker. Some would suggest this means that I am highly distractible by shiny objects and interesting things. I prefer to think of it as an openness to the complexity of life. For example, the other day I was walking my dog, Emma. She – also being ever driven by impulses – attempted to engage the attention of a cat, and may very well have eaten it if given the chance. This reminded me of a recent commercial with an alien posing as an exchange student that attempted to eat the family cat. That reminded me of the late ‘80s sitcom, Alf, whose lead character came from a planet where eating cats was a delicacy that took on near religious significance. Stay with me, I’ll get to the Gospel – I promise. Anyway, I was reminded that during one particular episode Alf denied his instinct, going so far as to risk his own life in order to save the family cat. [ This is the episode . Turns out it was a l...