April 2025 – Wicomico Presbyterian Church

Grief & Hope

Luke 24:1-12 It is almost always the same. When I attend a funeral as a mourner or lead a funeral as a pastor, I hear all the things people say about the one who has died. They tell stories about how this person changed their lives. They speak about the qualities of this person with emotion – wonder, pride. There is always some humor mixed in with it all, because how can there not be when you are speaking about love? I love listening to the stories, whether it is someone I knew well or very little, at some point I find myself feeling a kind of holy amazement and inspiration. I walk away from there thinking, “What a wonderful life! And then I think, “Goodness gracious – what the heck have I been doing with one precious wonderful life?” When someone dies, there is always grief. But there is […]

Shouting & Silence

Luke 19:29-40 For over five weeks we have been traveling with Jesus toward Jerusalem. Now we are, finally, almost there. We can feel the excitement of this glorious day, there is momentum! But they pause, unexpectedly, near Bethany and Bethphage. There are a few final details to take care of. Jesus turns to two of his disciples: “Go ahead into the village. You will find a colt tied up. Untie it and bring it here.” And here we might wonder a few things, including: Is this really okay? That they should just go in and take a colt that belongs to someone else? Might someone object to this? Yes, actually, Jesus anticipates this, for he also tells them, “If anyone asks you what you are doing just tell them this: ‘the Lord needs it.’” So they went in and they found the colt. They untied it and, sure enough, someone […]

Righteousness & Mercy

Luke 19:1-10 As we continue through the Gospel of Luke, the story of Zacchaeus gives us another opportunity to see how Jesus interacts with those individuals who are lumped into the large category of “sinners.” Individuals who get a surprising amount of facetime with Jesus. Again and again, we are told of Jesus sitting at table with sinners and tax collectors, teaching them, and even calling them to be his disciples. While we are never told exactly who these sinners are, we do know something about the tax collectors. These men worked for the occupying government. Rome hired Jews who were willing to do this job, as hated as it was by the people. The system was set up for money to flow upward. The local tax collector would demand payments that would allow them to cover their own expenses, and it seems as though it was up to them […]

Lost & Found

Luke 15:1-7 When my children were young and we had a full house, I felt like I was always counting. If we went out together, literally counting heads to make sure everyone was there, no one was lost. At home, whether cooking, doing laundry, reading a book, or watching TV, I would at random moments make a count in my head. One is upstairs in her room, one is sitting at the computer, one is right here with me, and one is at the neighbor’s house. So, I understand the sheep owner, counting his sheep. You won’t just naturally notice that one out of 100 is missing. You would have to count. When my children were young I also had the horrible experience of losing one of them. In the mall, to my recollection. More than once. So many things to look at, so many places to hide or wander […]

Rest & Growth

Luke 13:6-9 When I was installed as pastor at Wicomico Presbyterian Church I received a gift from the Korean congregation next door. They sent me a beautiful orchid plant, which I received with awe and a bit of trepidation. My past experience with orchids had not been that successful. But everyone kept telling me they were pretty simple. Find a good spot for it – light but not too much direct sunlight – and feed it three ice cubes a week. So I did. And after a time the blossoms all fell off, as they do. But it looked healthy otherwise, and I kept feeding it three ice cubes every Sunday, without fail. And waited for it to bloom again. I waited five years. 260 Sundays. 780 ice cubes. Which is longer than this vineyard owner did. This man apparently planted the tree expecting results. He wanted this tree to […]