Rev. Zach

Acts 2:1-21 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 John 7:37-39 Pentecost – what a great and wonderful day! I have always loved the day that my sister grew up referring to as “red dress Sunday.” Of course, the American Heart Association has stolen that one from us by claiming a day in February as the day for everyone – across race, creed, and religion – to wear red for a great cause; heart health for women. And here in Lafayette we wear red every Friday – especially during football season. In the face of cultural religions and national campaigns for health and salvation, the red of Pentecost almost seems an idle tale. In fact, when I was thinking of the way in which we have romanticized the story of the birth of the church, I am reminded of Monty Python and the Holy Grail . Indeed, Arthur and his gallant knights come in sight of the castle and each say the name wistfully, “Camelot. Camelot. Camelot.” Then the rude squire acknowledges the obvious concession of filmmaking, “It’s only a ...

Acts 1:6-14 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11 John 17:1-11 Established – this is one of the most dangerous words we can encounter as a church. 1 Peter claims that God will “restore, support, strengthen, and establish” us. Generally speaking, these are good things. Yet I believe that the past tense of the last part of that promise – to be established – can be as much of a curse as it is a blessing. Of course, I am taking the term “establish” completely out of context, so let me back up and fill in some holes before I go too much further. All three of these readings were most likely written close to the end of the first century. To put it in perspective, scholars believe that Jesus’ death and resurrection were around 33 AD. Rome exercised total control over Israel and Judah, and tensions were rising that eventually spilled over into outright rebellion in 66 AD, with the result of the temple of Jerusalem being overrun and destroyed in 70 AD. Around this time, or a little later...

Acts 17:22-31 Psalm 66:8-20 1 Peter 3:13-22 John 14:15-21   The three most common claims that I hear about God these days are that God wants to have a personal relationship with you as an individual, God is uninterested in us, or God doesn’t exist. I don’t intend to argue for or against any of these claims, because I think they are unarguable. I am willing to accept that any or all of them might be true, because my faith and my understanding of God is not changed, stretched, or challenged by any of them. Instead, I would like to suggest that the answer to the question of God’s existence and our understanding of God’s will is not based on who or what God is, or who we are, or what we do. It is based on the fact that we are limited creatures with the ability to do something that no other creature – as far as we know – can do. We can hope. We can live with struggle and pain and suffering, and we can still expect that something better is on the way. Not only that, we even have the ab...