Rev. Zach

Acts 2:14a, 36-41,  Luke 24:13-35,  1 Peter 1:17-23 Spring has sprung and there is a lot going on! Whether you are out enjoying God’s good creation or getting involved in some important social cause or just trying to keep the grass mowed without getting taken down by your allergies, it is a busy time of year. In fact, yesterday there were at least three places in town where you could celebrate Earth Day while supporting causes that you love, and I know some of our folks were pretty busy at two of them. Clancy hosted a table at the Earth Day celebration in Vermilionville and several others were volunteering and attending the Southern Garden Festival at Sarah Schoeffler’s house. I was able to get to both of those and each offered something amazing — conversation. Each of our texts today has some element of conversation, and they remind us that God is active and present — even when we are too busy to notice it — particularly in the space of our conversations. I want to say a bit ...

Isaiah 25:6-9 ; Colossians 3:1-4 ; John 20:1-18 “I have seen the Lord, now what?” Mary doesn’t ask that question, but that is the question our readings ask us today. Mary doesn’t ask that question, but it is the logical next step to say, “Now what?” Of course, if we really want to know what this is all about, we could ask the three basic processing questions that I’ve used in years past on challenge courses and other leadership training events. I don’t know their origin, but I learned them from a friend in seminary. The three basic processing questions are “Say what?”; “So what?”; and “Now what?” “Say what?” asks what happened. What was said? What was done? What is the content of the subject we are figuring out together? “So what?” asks what this information means. Why does it matter? “Now what?” asks what we are going to do with this information and our newfound understanding of it. Our readings are the answer to the question, “Say what?” Isaiah speaks of a rich feast where God will s...

Isaiah 50:4-9a ; Philippians 2:5-11 ; Matthew 21:1-11 Congratulations, church! We’ve made it to Palm Sunday. This is, of course, a time of great moral dilemma. You see, there are those that argue that Lent goes up until Easter Sunday, however, if it started on Ash Wednesday (February 22) and it lasts 40 days…that means your “fasting” would end today. Of course, the point here is not to check off a bunch of dates or argue about which ones count or don’t count, but instead to prepare our hearts and minds and all that we have and all that we are for the newness of life we celebrate on Easter Sunday! If your Lenten disciplines are helping you with that, forget about the math and just focus on faith. Now, I realize that every day offers the hope of second and third, and 52nd chances, but there is something special about Easter – and it is worth waiting for and preparing for. One of the ways we do this in the church is by celebrating Palm Sunday, with a procession of palms in memory of the ...