In the Name of Jesus

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As I was preparing for today, one of the first things that jumped out at me was the words in the Collect of the Day: “Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life.”

That word “follow” sticks out. When we think of the word “follow” we can see it as no more important than “I follow the news.” “I keep up with, pay attention to, the news.” Maybe we even think that having the news on 24/7 on the television – even if in the background – means that we are “followers” of the news.

Liars, Antichrists, and Blasphemers, Oh My!

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Children, it is the last hour! As you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come.  – 1 John 2:18 When I was growing up, one of the things that seemed to be on everyone’s mind was this notion of the Antichrist, since, according to some big names, Jesus was coming…

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Heartburn?

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Have you ever gone to watch a motivational speaker? Someone who has in mind to help you bring out the very best of yourself, to help you achieve more than you are now, and to bring you up to your full potential? That was really more of a thing back a few decades ago, but if you went to a seminar like this, at the end of the seminar you probably found yourself excited about life, about the possibilities of what you could accomplish, or about how your life could improve.

I went to one of these seminars over twenty years ago, and during that time several of us overcame our fears – long held irrational fears – and we began to create new visions of our future, and answer the age old mysteries. In fact, at that seminar, I understood the answer to the mysterious question: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” It was a moment of grand dreams and visions of an exciting future, filled with plans that would improve my life.

With Fear and Great Joy

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Every single one of us has heard the story – some of us probably hundreds of times. We know what’s going to happen by the end of the story, so we don’t think about it much anymore. The mystery has faded, and the excitement at the mystery of the incarnation – the death and resurrection – seems to have dried up as well.

Because of this, it’s hard to put ourselves into the minds of these women in the Gospel – the two Marys.

The Death of God

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Lectionary Readings: Year A, Holy Week, Good Friday In 1883, the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously declared “God is Dead.” You’ve probably heard the phrase thrown about when discussing atheism, because Nietzsche is saying that God is just a social construct used to justify all sorts of evil and violence. If you read his work, you…

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What Does That Even Mean?

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Have you ever had a moment in your life where everything all came crashing in at once? Not in a bad way. Not like things in your life were falling apart. But that things all came together in one single moment, and everything made so much sense – a true sense of clarity – that you could no longer understand or look at things the same way again. 

God Said What?

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As I looked at the Gospel reading for today, I was torn with all the directions that a sermon could go. The Gospel is about Joseph, Mary, and Jesus escaping the violence of Herod’s jealousy, as he seeks to kill the child Jesus. They escaped through a dream that Joseph had, and which protected him and his family. And then, the gospel concludes with another dream in which Joseph is told that it is now safe, and that he can bring his family back to Israel. And then again, yet another dream warns him not to go back to Bethlehem, but instead sends him off to a town called Nazareth.

A Sense of Wonder

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Advent has been called a mini-Lent, because it is also a season of penitence. The difference between Lent and Advent is that during Lent, we prepare for Christ’s crucifixion (and then resurrection), while in Advent, we prepare our hearts for Christ’s birth, and in another sense, for Christ’s Second Coming. Accordingly, Advent, while still a penitential season of preparation, is more joyful than Lent because of the anticipation of something new, something greater than ourselves, something that sparks hope for a better future for all God’s children – through our work, and our gifts that allow us to care for all, guided by the love that God has showed us.

Not a Hair on Your Head

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But that doesn’t mean that Christ’s activity has come to an end. Instead, toward the tail end of the Season after Pentecost, we begin to hear these passages that speak about the end of days, and what needs to happen before the return of the King. These passages of scripture teach us about how we are to live our lives even during the tumult and torture at the end of the world as we know it.