Rev. Zach

Worship With Us: YouTube (please subscribe) Scripture Readings: Isaiah 25:6-9 Matthew 28:1-10 This Easter Sunday is a totally unprecedented event! Who would have ever imagined that people across the world would be united in the experience of worshiping online and in homes, having been chased out of our congregations by our love for the vulnerable? I suppose that if you take the long view of things, there have been plagues and pandemics before – there just weren’t so many people to move. In the middle ages, and across Europe, people were certainly moved out of their normal patterns of worship, and the church moved with them, and the plague followed them. Fortunately, for the most part, the Christian church is taking a more responsible approach this time, but not without significant loss. Certainly, there are congregations big and small feeling the same economic pinch as our members who have lost jobs and businesses that have closed. Yet there is something else that we lament, ...

I found this in my drafts folder. It's a little early yet, as it is from Eater a few years back. Not sure why I never published it. Psalm 118:19‐24       Acts 10:34-43       Luke 24:1-12  It was the women who accompanied him to the tomb. It was the women who dutifully prepared the spices and oils to give dignity to a decomposing body. This was not uncommon. It was one of the roles of women in society at the time. Perhaps it was because they were discounted and lacking power and influence that they were also humble enough to want to care for the dead and dying. Perhaps it is because of their role in bringing life into the world that they understood its passing more sincerely. It was the women, in all four gospels, who were the first to proclaim the good news – the gospel truth – that HE IS RISEN! In reading and reflecting on this passage, I wonder what it must have felt like to proclaim that truth for the first time. [three members perform “The T...

Readings: Acts 10:34-43 , Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 , John 20:1-18 Followers of Jesus throughout the world are gathering together on this Easter Sunday to celebrate the most basic confession of the Christian faith. He is risen! (Congregation responds: He is risen indeed!) So much has already been said in these few words. The man born as Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed One of God who revealed God’s true nature for once and for all. This Jesus died and was raised by the power of God ( Acts 2:23-25 ), and because he is risen we know that there is no power, no other defining moment, no force of will or nature that can divert or dislodge or dissolve the claim of God’s love upon our lives! He is risen! (Congregation responds: He is risen indeed!) Yes! And because of that, faithful believers and curious seekers have followed the same pattern set out in scripture since day one. It is the pattern we see in our Gospel reading, and it is most likely a pattern that you experienced this ...

Isaiah 65:17-25 Acts 10:34-43 Luke 24:1-12 “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” he said. “He is not here. He is risen.” Out of all of the liturgically correct responses we hold dear in the church, I have to say that “He is risen indeed!” is one of my favorites. The resurrection of Jesus is so very basic and fundamental to our proclamation about God, and yet for many it seems to be an “idle tale.” It seems that the more we know about scientific processes and discoveries, the greater claim we want to make on our ability to understand the mysteries of the universe. The unknown is simply the “not known yet.” Scientific curiosity is certainly a good thing, but it can at times become a sticking point for those who do not believe what they cannot observe. Likewise, the more we know about the human body and disease and metabolic processes, the more impossible it seems that the resurrection of Jesus could have ever occurred. Of course, this point has been argued fro...

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...

Jeremiah 31:1-6 Colossians 3:1-4 Matthew 28:1-10 Those who know me well know that if I were to ever raise live stock I would hope to own a small herd of myotonic goats . These are goats that have been bread especially to highlight a certain genetic trait that otherwise would have been naturally eliminated. That trait is an enzyme which naturally constricts their muscles when they are startled, causing them to fall over. Yes, these are the so-called “fainting goats” who have the unfortunate flight or fight response of falling over. Now, before you get carried away with the idea that I am simply a dark humored person who delights in the misery of a helpless creature, let me say that I am enamored by these creatures because I see myself in them. Fear of conflict is more apt to paralyze me than to motivate me. Fear of the unknown can make me want to hunker down and hope it will all go away. Those things that are beyond my control often make me want to exert more control over the t...

First Presbyterian – Lafayette, Louisiana Sermon Delivered April 8, 2012 Isaiah 25:6-9 Acts 10:34-43 Mark 16:1-8 The Shorter Ending of Mark Before reading the Mark passage I acknowledged that the oldest Greek manuscripts stopped at verse 8. Manuscripts containing the longer ending (vv9-20) can be dated to around 200 CE. Manuscripts with the shorter ending can be dated to around 400 CE. After reading verses 1-8 there was a moment of silence, followed by the shorter ending. Scholars believe that Mark’s gospel is probably the oldest text of the synoptic gospels, possibly preceding Matthew’s gospel by 15 years. I want you to know that I have beautiful feet. It’s true! Romans 10:15 says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” An old mentor of mine told me about that many years ago. He was the same one who told me about preaching in a small country church and being told his sermon was awful. It turns out that the person meant “awe-full” or “filled with awe.”...

First Presbyterian Church – Lafayette, Louisiana May 29, 2011 – Easter (6A) Acts 17:22-32 Psalm 66:8-20 1 Peter 3:13-17 John 14:15-21 How many of you have a word that bothers you – a word that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up and your gut clench a little bit?  Anyone care to share his or her word?  I have a good friend who feels that way about the word 'pumice', and I don't know why.  My word is 'irregardless'.  It's a double negation.  Though there are those that would defend its usage as satire, I've never heard it used in jest.  I've only heard it used to say "without regard," which would simply be regardless. A word that makes some people a little uncomfortable, especially in church, is intimacy.  Consider what images come to mind when I mention the word intimacy.  The topic of intimacy or the thought of becoming intimate with someone seems not to apply to church, at least not in our culture – but that is exactly w...

First Presbyterian Church – Lafayette, Louisiana June 5, 2011 – Easter (7A) Acts 1:6-14 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 John 17:1-11 A few days ago my 7-year-old daughter asked me what it means to say, "That's for me to know, and for you to find out!" She had seen this in a book and wasn't sure what to make of it. She understood the words, but the way they were being used didn't quite make sense.  We talked about the idea that sometimes this phrase is used to tease someone and make a person feel like she or he is not important enough to know all that there is to know about something.  We also talked about its use as a way of letting someone know that there is a prize in store for her or him.  Sometimes this phrase can also be a way to let someone know that whatever it may be, it is none of that person's business. Secret knowledge, insider trading – that's what the gospel message is all about, right? It sure seems that way by looking at today's text...

First Presbyterian Church – Lafayette, Louisiana April 24, 2011 – Easter (Year A) Jeremiah 31:1-6 Colossians 3:1-4 John 20:1-18 Crazy Talk – that's what all of this Easter stuff is, you know.  Crazy talk – that's what they had to have said about Jeremiah!  His disciples drag him off to Egypt after he has seen his nation crumble, the King's sons put to death, and the King blinded, bound, and dragged off as a slave.  Yet all Jeremiah wants to talk about is their history of salvation, making claims that God will do it again – "on that day," whenever that will be. Then we have Paul, or someone writing in his name, telling us that we are hidden with Christ, that through our baptism we are already dead.  Not only have we died but, presumably, we have also been raised with Christ.  But how do we know? If we have been raised with Christ then we will set our minds on things that are above.  Oh.  Well, that clears it right up. Then we have this audac...