We prayed for the President, difficult though it was, because I don’t want my daughter to learn that we only pray for people we like. We prayed for the President because I want my daughter to remember this story about Jesus welcoming Judas to his Table.
Read MoreThis parable does leave us with unanswered questions and that’s ok, that’s what parables do. But what if, like last week’s parable, we re-wrote today’s parable with a different kind of ending?
Read MoreSo, dear friends, if you are dismayed, discouraged, and disgusted by what you see around you, then do your part to break the cycle. Practice radical forgiveness. Practice it with me over and over and over and over and over again. And then, bit by bit, we might just heal the wounds of this world in Jesus’ name. Together, you and I can compose a different version of today’s parable - one where we replace cycles of vengeance with cycles of persevering peace.
Read MoreFriends, the Resurrected Christ is made known to us in the breaking of bread. That simplest of acts. And Mama C taught me and so many other students that. You see, at the end of the day, the Gospel is not proclaimed so much by eloquent sermons, or fancy church buildings, or huge choirs, or whatever else. At the end of the day, the Gospel is proclaimed simply by breaking bread with one another.
Read MoreSo today, I’m curious. What would today’s passage have looked like if the community around this man had responded with curiosity and celebration instead of fear and anger?
Read MoreSo friends, the wilderness continues. Remember that the wilderness is where we learn together. This wilderness can at first look like a place of isolation but, as today’s story teaches us, if we just practice a little intentionality and curiosity, this wilderness can and will be a place of unexpected connection!
Read MoreNow, here I have to say, I’m really disappointed in Jesus. You know why? Because I think Jesus is asking the wrong question. Instead of asking Peter why he didn’t have enough faith, I think he should have asked the same question to a different person; well, to eleven different persons, if you catch my drift.
Read MoreI’ve realized that the Ascension is not about Jesus abandoning us. Rather, it is quite the opposite. The Ascension is about a promise.
Read MoreIf the stones could shout out, as Jesus suggests they are capable of, they would likely tell the story of two kings who entered Jerusalem from separate entrances.
Read MoreHer loving act was both provocative and prophetic. Provocative because she is doing such an intimate and sensual act of devotion and love. Prophetic because of where she is anointing Jesus. Kings get anointed on the head. But the only people who get anointed on the feet are ones who are dead.
Read MoreCultivate resilience. Let go of the distraction. And you might just find the freedom that you seek in order to follow Christ on this Lenten journey.
Read MoreAccording to this passage, the Christian narrative is nothing if it is not about restorative justice.
Read MoreThe time has come: will we sit around and wash our nets or cast them in deeper waters?
Read MoreWe are called, in this Season of Advent, to be on guard and alert not out of some sense of paranoia but instead out of hopeful anticipation for what God is doing in the world.
Read MoreGod's abundance is not limited by our lack of imagination or fear.
Read MoreBut something stirred within him that day. Jesus had brought out a stubbornness in him; a stubbornness that he guessed could be the “faith” his healer had just mentioned. A stubbornness to hope in the goodness and beauty of the world despite everything that seemed to indicate otherwise.
Read MoreLet us give joyfully so that when God calls us to follow, instead of going away tearfully, we can go away with a song on our lips because the God Movement is alive in our lives and we have been called to share it!
Read MoreThe Kingdom of God must be such a scary place for the person who thinks they know everything. But for the child who acts like a sponge to soak up new things, the Kingdom of God must be very exciting!
Read MoreLet us go into the world to show that gentleness is not weakness. Go out into the world and choose the wisdom that lifts up gentleness, a gentleness that is even stronger than death.
Read MoreOriginal hymns, liturgies, and sermons by Rev. Stephen M. Fearing. Liturgies for use in worship based off of the Revised Common Lectionary.
