8/25/2019
Pentecost 11 Yr C: Proper 16

In the Gospel reading today, Jesus performs another miraculous healing. The story also shows us yet another case of Jesus arguing with the religious leaders about their obsession with rules. The Pharisees took it quite literally that absolutely nothing that hinted of ‘work’ was to be done on the Sabbath; not even the work of healing somebody. Jesus saw that extreme interpretation as ludicrous, and he had no reservations about telling them so.

But there is another dimension to this story that has nothing to do with the Sabbath, and everything to do with the healing Jesus brings to US.

8/18/2019
Pentecost 10 Yr C: Proper 15

Jesus realized that in a few weeks He would be immersed (his word was ‘baptized’) in the agonizing pain of his Passion. Because he knew his time on earth was coming to its end, he felt an urgency to kindle the fire he had brought to earth.  The fire He brought isn’t physical fire; it is the burning, exciting, dynamic presence of God in the lives of people.

8/4/2019
Pentecost 8 Yr C: Proper 13

2019 mass shootings as of 6 am today – 251

Our national conversations about climate change, nuclear weapons, immigration reform, gun control, abortion, and the rights of minorities has degenerated into rhetoric that spews out division, anger, hate, and violence.