June 2023 – Wicomico Presbyterian Church

Creating Promise out of Pain

Genesis 21:8-21 HBO just wrapped up its series called Succession, after a very popular four-year run. The story is about an aging patriarch of a wealthy and powerful family and his children. And it’s all about who will be the heir. To whom will all this power be passed on. And so, there is the ongoing battle among the offspring and other interested parties – the battle for succession. It is not pretty to watch. I gave up trying to watch the show because every single character was so unlikeable. Truly unlikeable, but unfortunately, not unbelievable. People are like that. People have always been like that, as we can see in the book of Genesis. There are times in the course of studying the book of Genesis I am very aware of what an old, old story it is. But all I have to do is read the news and I […]

Creative Hospitality

Genesis 18:1-15 Once my mother forgot that she invited a guest for dinner. We were midway through our meal at the kitchen table when the doorbell rang. There he was, all dressed up and smiling, prepared to be a dinner guest. My mother was acutely embarrassed, as well as panicked. But she reacted quickly. She immediately gathered us all together to go out to a nearby restaurant with our guest, as though she had planned it that way all along. For the first and only time in my life I was encouraged to eat a second dinner – a special treat. My mother was a delightful hostess all through the meal, and all was well. I always found it remarkable that she was able to recover so well and turn a near crisis into a very enjoyable evening. This was an unusual experience, but actually, hospitality was an ordinary everyday […]

Spoken into Creation

Genesis 1:1-2:4a There is a restaurant in Austin Texas called El Arroyo. It has become famous, not for its food, but for its sign. Every day they put up some new witty saying – often reflecting an issue of the day, sometimes just weird and off-the-wall. Like this one: There’s no way that “everybody” was Kung Fu fighting. Or: 90% of marriage is shouting “What” from different rooms. Or this one: We all think we’re smart until we try to turn on someone else’s shower. The sign has become a marketing bonanza for El Arroyo. They’re happy to sell you coasters, magnets, tea towels, Christmas ornaments with some of the cleverest sayings from over the years. It’s way more popular than the restaurant, and it caught my attention because, many years ago, I worked at the restaurant – for about five minutes. I started working there as a waitress when I […]

The Places We Will Go

Acts 2:1-4 Acts 10:34-36 There is an old folk song called Sonny, and it makes me cry every time I hear it. It tells a story about a man who grew up living on a farm with his mother. His father was a sailor and never at home, so Sonny took care of the farm from a young age. The chorus repeats his mother’s words to him: Sonny, don’t go away; I’m here all alone. Your daddy’s a sailor, never comes home. Nights are so long, silence goes on; I’m feeling so tired and not all that strong. Sonny hears these words all his life and he never leaves. Even after his mother dies and Sonny is all alone on the farm, he continues to hear his mother’s words in his dreams. Sonny never leaves, and he becomes the one who is truly alone. Even if his mother would never […]