Rev. Zach

1 Samuel 2:1-10     Hebrews 10:19-25     Mark 13:1-8 Let’s start with a little seasonal humor for a state that has two seasons: Miserably Hot and Tolerably Cold. “Hey, Fall, where you at?” Fall answers, “Rolin’ up with Winter by my side!” [This is followed by my uproarious and genuine laughter. No, really, I love to laugh! I keep laughing until others begin to join in.] Now, you may have just thought that I’ve lost my mind. You may have been laughing at me instead of with me, and that’s OK. Laughter is good and there is medical evidence to show that laughing offers healing to the body, and many believe it heals the soul as well. Laughter is good for the soul. In fact, you can google “ Laughing Yogi ” and find Hindu spiritual teachings based on the exercise of laughing. While we are obviously not Hindu, the idea of being intentionally joyful is a good thing for anyone, and I believe it is an indicator of the quality of our relationsh...

Hebrews 10:11-14, 19-25        Mark 13:1-8 It has been an interesting week. We have moved from the serious responsibility of taking care of our military veterans to the silliness of debates over who is offended – or even defending against attacks from – red coffee cups to the severity of terrorism and absolute suffering. Much of this drama has played out though social media in ways that make it all seem both highly personal and totally virtual at the same time. Of course, violence is not some virtual reality. Oh that it were so, and we could spawn and re-spawn countless numbers of lives! When we hear the terrible truth of lives lost to violence we cannot help but turn to God. We ask questions of purpose. We make declarations of judgement, and we make vows and speak prayers that expose our fear even as we are called to hope. Some may even think that it is time to abandon hope in the present and place all of our trust in the future. When the world seems to be chan...