Rev. Zach

Exodus 24:12-18 Psalm 2 Matthew 17:1-9 What we have received in the scriptures today is nothing short of the power of God written largely for all to see! In each case, the people were moved by amazement, and the expectation was set for a future ordered by grace and mercy. That’s some good news, and we sure do need it! Today is the day we celebrate – and wrestle with – the transfiguration of Jesus, and it’s kind of like the exclamation point at the end of the Season of Epiphany. I realize that not everyone is into celebrating the seasons of the church year (apart from Christmas and Easter), but here’s why Epiphany matters to the church and to the world. We make such a fuss about the birth of Christ, and once the presents are opened and the decorations put away (or repurposed for Mardi Gras) we tend to forget why that birth mattered so much. Epiphany is the season that reminds us why the birth of Jesus matters. It is nothing less than the God of all space and time, of all tha...

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Matthew 5:21-37 This week, just like every week, I have prayed and studied and reflected and discussed the scriptures with colleagues, yet this week, unlike most other weeks, I have found it terribly difficult to figure out what I might say about these particular passages of scripture. It’s not that they are so very difficult (although they actually are). It’s that I’m still reeling from the feedback that I received from last week’s sermon. Last week I received more feedback than I think I ever have in 18 years of ordained ministry. It ranged from, “I’ve been waiting for a message like that!” to “I don’t agree with your politics, but I can still love you!” which was followed by a massive hug. Later in the week, I heard more disagreement, but it wasn’t necessarily over politics. Truth be told, I didn’t actually think the things I said were political, so much as they were Biblical and theological reflections on the issues of the day. T...

Isaiah 58:1-9a     1 Corinthians 2:1-12     Matthew 5:13-20 Our reading from Matthew’s gospel follows the beatitudes – Jesus’s recounting of those who are blessed though they seem everything but – and as it continues Jesus goes straight from preachin’ down into meddlin’, as my grandmother used to say. Remember He was on a low rolling hill opposite the construction of Tiberias, so named for the Roman Emperor and built from unfair taxation, conscripted labor, and standing as a challenge to Jerusalem as a center of power for the people of Judea. You should also consider that just before preaching from the hills, Jesus had been preaching in various synagogues and healing the sick. That means the sermon on the mount was preceded by demonstrations of God’s grace and mercy and the constant call for repentance so that the people might enter the kingdom of God. Now he is describing what the social and political realities look like when we live in the Kingdom of God. ...

Micah 6:1-8 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Matthew 5:1-12 Before reading Matthew 5:1-12, I encourage you to consider substituting “honored” or “envied” instead of “blessed,” as some scholars have suggested. This truly changes the weight of the passage from “those who have it rough now will get a prize in the end” to “those who suffer offer us a deeper understanding of God’s active presence.” At the risk of sounding dismissive to suffering, I must confess that it’s hard for me to read this passage without the influence and theological questioning of the recently deceased, Terry Jones, a founding member of the Monty Python comedy troupe and the director of the film, The Life of Brian. For those who are unaware, The Life of Brian was a satirical and sacrilegious parody of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. There is a scene in the film in which Jesus is delivering his “sermon on the mount” which includes the Beatitudes of Jesus. The camera pans wide from the masses, and the further out it g...