8/26/2018
Pentecost 14B
Jesus is the bread of heaven, the cup of salvation. When we choose to take him in; he is in us, and we are in him. We receive him / his Spirit / spiritual blessing / spiritual strength. We become who we really are – spiritual beings in a physical body; in the world but not of the world.
Do you believe that there is spiritual warfare going on?
8/19/2018
Pentecost 13B
After the last three weeks of Gospel lessons talking about bread, today Jesus adds a challenge; instead of only describing himself as the bread of life, it is now time for his listeners to commit.
8/12/2018
Pentecost 12B
Reverend Ardyss discusses our Christian response to the hurtful and violent events in Charlottesville, and from around the world. How can we share the message of today’s Psalm: Taste and see that the Lord is good.
8/5/2018
Pentecost 11B
In a family, at bedtime, we said good night, and went to bed; no hug, no kiss. When I went to scout camp every summer, or on a weekend trip, no hugs. Hugs just weren’t part of the culture of my family when I was growing up. Then when I was 28 years old I attended a Cursillo weekend. I came home from that experience with a driving need to show more of how I felt. The next time I visited my dad in northern New York…
7/29/2018
Pentecost 10B
Elisha’s servant thought that 20 loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain were too little to feed 100 people. But Elisha made it to be more than enough. Andrew thought that the 5 barley loaves and 2 fish were not enough to feed the 5,000, but Jesus made it to be more than enough. Paul wrote to the Ephesians about God’s ability to accomplish abundantly far more than we can imagine. But how hard it is sometimes for us to recognize abundance.
7/22/2018
Pentecost 9B
Our God cannot be contained within a mortal shepherd, or a house, or a temple, or within one ‘elect’ people. You and I can find God, see God, and experience God everywhere and anywhere. We should look for God to be in unexpected places.
7/15/2018
Pentecost 8B
The Scriptures show us a study in managing self-esteem. We see HUMILITY in Amos, who claimed only to be a herdsman, and a tree-trimmer. But he also claimed the power of God working through him to speak the truth to Israel. Then we see the strong PRIDE that motivated Herod to execute John the Baptist. To think more highly of ourselves that we ought to is PRIDE. And so we are taught to show humility.
7/8/2018
Pentecost 7B
Reverend Ardyss reflects on our need to proclaim – every day – ‘This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice’.
7/01/2018
Pentecost 6B
Jesus healed two women in the Gospel reading today. He healed both of them by touch; by touch that was against the law. He healed the woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. That ailment made her ‘unclean’, and by laws set out in Leviticus, she was to touch no one, not attend church, and keep herself away from other people – in this case, for twelve years.
Of course, Jesus ignored the regulation, and healed her.
6/24/2018
Pentecost 5B
The wind was whipping water over the gunwales, and the waves were throwing the boat around like a toy boat in a bathtub. The disclples shouted to Jesus in order to wake him up, and out of fear, “Lord, don’t you care that we are perishing?” Jesus answered his frightened disciples’ plea for help by calming the storm with just a few word, “Peace! Be still!”.
From the disciples’ perspective, this was it; they were going to die, and Jesus didn’t seem to care.