If we’re following the Revised Common Lectionary, each year on the Sunday after Easter, we read the Lesson about Thomas from John’s Gospel.  This can get kind of tedious, but it also may be a salutary reminder that, even in the midst of the most faithful group of people there are those who are willing to have a robust faith without having ever seen a first-hand demonstration of Jesus power, and those who aren’t, but who demand to have an immediate experience for themselves. And, while the story calls the former kind of disciples “blessed,” it does not say the… Continue reading →

People have been preaching and teaching on Easter about the resurrection of Jesus for thousands of years.  It’s all been said, and many of you will have heard what could pass for a summary of much that there is to say.  Indeed, I’ve been at work here for a long time, and certainly shot my bolt as well, so if you’re looking for novelty, you won’t find it today. Yet perhaps, that’s just the point about such days as Easter and Christmas. The basics of the days themselves don’t change. I learned something a long time ago about knowing things… Continue reading →

In the Church Year, at least according to the Revised Common Lectionary which I have used over the past sixteen years, this Sunday marks two occasions rolled into one, Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday, and these two do not head exactly the same way down the road, or don’t seem to.  The Old Testament Lesson is a reading for Passion Sunday, and comes from one of the Servant Songs in Isaiah. At least classically Christians have always recognized the ministry of Jesus in the figure of the Servant of the Lord, not the least because Jesus seems to see his… Continue reading →

I think we all know that we live in a world where things are changing.  There are immense cultural changes in every aspect of experience, from personal and institutional ones, to larger societal ones. We cannot just assume that what we thought would always be around, will.  In church life, such situations, of course, breed their own experts who pronounce on what we need to do to make ourselves relevant or adapt ourselves to the changed environment, circumstances, paradigm, or whatever the right word is at this moment.  At this point I need to issue a warning, this is not… Continue reading →