Rev. Zach

Psalm 118:14-29     John 20:19-31 The year was 1995. I was freshly divorced and house sitting for a friend of mine while he was away for the summer. He had a late 80’s Mazda Rx7 that he told me to be sure I drove from time to time, but I had to be careful because the speedometer didn’t always work. Well, I got pulled over. By some miracle of chance, the officer believed me that the car was not stolen and that the speedometer was broken. That was probably due to the fact that I was pulled over for going too slow, but I still attributed being let go without a ticket to the prayers that leaped into my heart at the sound of the siren! It was a trying time in my life, and that very night I did what I would never advise anyone do. I got out my Bible. I shook my fist at God and said, “If you love me, prove it!” Then I flipped open the Bible and stuck my finger in it – just like Thomas. Fortunately, I did not land in something like Daniel’s dream of a ram and a goat. I landed on Mathew

Isaiah 25:6-9     1 Corinthians 5:6b-8      Luke 24:1-12 The women were first. Peter was amazed. Paul called out pride and the Prophet Isaiah spoke the truth of God’s love: God invites us to a life-giving feast where God will swallow up death. What does that all mean to us, though? For starters it means that we are being invited into the story. In this story, our amazement in the resurrection calls us to become truth and sincerity. That’s the butterfly moment that God has in mind for us. On the other side of our Lenten cocoon is a life where we embody truth and sincerity. We’ve been to the cross, and now we must go to the tomb and be amazed by the fact that he isn’t there. We have to wrestle with the reality that we have been looking for the living among the dead. Today, we must be confronted with the resurrection of Jesus, and what it means to us. All week long I have been struggling with the proclamation   of these three women and the amazement of Peter at the resurrec

Isaiah 50:4-9a      Philippians 2:5-11      Luke 19:28-40 Tell me again. Tell me again to cultivate new life— a life where I believe in myself, a life where dare I say, I love myself. Tell me again to cultivate new life— a life of dancing in the kitchen and slow cups of coffee; a life where Sabbath is viewed as a gift as opposed to a luxury; a life where I trust my own voice and speak words dripping in hope, heavy in love. Tell me again. Tell me again because I will forget. Tell me again because change has never come easy. Tell me again, because on Monday I’ll wave palms And by Friday I’ll be at the foot of a cross. So if you can, tell me again Of the love that changed the world, And my invitation to do the same. That was, “Holy Week,” by Sarah Are, and we are here to tell the story of the love that changed the world. At least, that’s what we normally do, right? We come together and tell the story of the love that changed the world, and then we g

 Isaiah 43:16-21      Philippians 3:4b-14       John 12:1-8 Earlier I spoke with the children about the walking stick I picked up in Ghana. The carved bird cranes her neck backward to balance the egg on her tail-feathers, and it symbolizes the proverb of securing the future by looking to the past. I told them to learn from the past but prepare to become something different. In the words of Søren Kierkegaard, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” Taking a quick look back before we move forward is why we’re all here, right? So far, during this season of Lent, we began with an announcement of Jubilee in Mary’s song. That’s the idea of a cosmic reset of the balance of power by God with the expectation that it will have a very real and lasting and systemic impact on our economy and our way of relating to one another, to God, and to all of creation. Jesus preached that in his first sermon. They didn’t like it. Grace can be threatening when we re

Joshua 5:9-12       2 Corinthians 5:16-21       Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32   Pop quiz! Who can tell me what tolerance means? (Answers are repeated for all to hear.) Outstanding!    Here are a few of the definitions from  Merriam-Webster.com :    1. the   capacity to endure pain or hardship   2.  a.  sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with   one's own   b .  the act of allowing something   Last week we talked about tolerance as the result of repentance. When we repent ,  we not only turn from our own self-centeredness. We also turn toward a worldview that values others equally in the eyes of God.    Next question. What about acceptance? (Answers are repeated for all to hear.) For this one,  Merriam-Webster.com  says:   Status of having been  give n  admittance or approval to   an agreeing either expressly or by conduct to the act or offer of another so that a contract is concluded a