Rev. Zach

Acts 4:5-12     Psalm 23     1 John 3:16-24     John 10:11-18 [There is a Jenga game next to the pulpit as a visual aid.] While I would love to say that today’s scripture passages fill me with comfort and peace, I have to admit that they do not.  Well, at least not the type of comfort and peace that I might have if I listened selectively to the good parts.  The Lord is my shepherd, [move Jenga piece] and Jesus is the good shepherd who lays down his life [move Jenga piece].  This Jesus is the cornerstone that pulls everything in line [move Jenga piece]. These simple truths are what I want to remember about these passages, but there’s a lot more to them than those simple words of comfort.  When I read the rest of the story I suddenly find myself feeling like Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther.  You may remember how he hired a butler named Cato and instructed him to lie in wait and attack him every time he came home just to kee...

Acts 3:12-19     Psalm 4:1-8     1 John 3:1-7     Luke 24:36b-48 I really like the word, “ beloved.”   I think there is certain purity to the word.  Not only that, but there is no denying the intent.  If you are beloved, then you are the object of the affection of another. Being beloved is not about your choice; it is about being chosen.  And that’s what we are.  We are God’s beloved at First Presbyterian Church.  Whether you have been here 20 years or just walked in the door, I am here to tell you that you are God’s beloved – right here and right now. Doesn’t that feel good?  Beloved is such a great word.  Being Southern, I can even say it with a wide variety of inflections, and it doesn’t change what it means.  If anything, it reminds me how important the person I’m describing is to God – no matter what I am feeling at the time.  But what does that mean, exactly?  Yes, we are chosen by God – ...

So, I gotta say, I am suitably impressed with the Marvel's recent incarnation of Daredevil on Netflix . As a child, I collected only two comics – the Uncanny X-Men, and Daredevil. While I was excited about the film version, I just couldn't see Matt Damon as the lead. Don't get me wrong, he's an accomplished performer. He's just too pretty for it, and his eyes are all wrong. Sure, Daredevil is blind, Ben Affleck has puppy eyes. Daredevil is gritty. His eyes, when revealed, are like steel. They are not mournful. They are set and resolved. So, I just couldn't bring myself to watch Matt Damon as Daredevil. Charlie Cox , in my opinion, nails this role. He is resolved and purposeful, penitent and yet unyielding (Forgive me Father for what I am going to do...). He is the product of childhood fears and his own intentional actions that incorporate the darkness that resides within into the light of righteous indifference. He lets the devil out in order to conquer the ...

Acts 4:32-35     Psalm 133:1-3     1 John 1:1-2:2     John 20:19-31 Today we have some of the most romantic passages in the lectionary.  I don’t mean that they are all lovey dovey.  I mean they are the stuff of dreams.  They are the kind of passages that draw many of us to think of ideal images of the church in harmony and Jesus returning to calm fears, answer doubts, and give power to those who follow him.  These are certainly good images to hold onto, but there may be more to it than that. For me, theses readings conjure up memories of singing around a campfire.  It usually began with a two-part harmony chorus.  The boys would often start – some faking a low voice until they could make one, or at least hide their awkward squeaks in the group. Walkin’, walkin’, walkin’ in the light  Walkin’, walkin’, walkin’ in the light  Then the girls would come in a little too high before settling into somethin...

Isaiah 25:6-9     1 Corinthians 15:1-11     Luke 24:13-49 Each of us, in our lives, experience what you might call defining moments.  Some of these moments are profound, and some may be quite profane.  Some of them are so mundane that we only catch them in hindsight – like a smile on a bad day, or even the recognition that something you thought went well was deeply flawed.  Defining moments are particular experiences that color your perception of the world.  They may even change the way you think and feel about the person closest to you – the one you see in the mirror. For something to truly be a defining moment, it needs to do one of two things.  It will either transform what you think, feel, and believe, or it will confirm what you think, feel, and believe.  And often times, when something truly affects our perception of the world around us, the first thing we want to do is to share it with someone else.  Usually we wan...