Acts 9:36-43 Her name was Tabitha. Or maybe it was Dorcas, depending on the language we are speaking, but in both Aramaic and in Greek her name meant gazelle. A beautiful name, gazelle, an animal that is known to be swift and small, graceful in its movements. Her name may have been chosen for these reasons. Perhaps her parents hoped for her to be lovely and gentle, and bring more beauty to the world. We know that in her heart and soul she was truly lovely; we know that through her care for others she brought beauty to the world; we know that she was deeply loved by many. Tabitha was quick to serve anyone around her who was in need. She took especially good care of the widows in her community. It might be easy for us to forget, but in that time a widow was an especially vulnerable […]
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Grace in Abundance
John 21:1-19 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the greeting Paul liked to use in his letters he sent to churches. In these weeks since Easter Sunday I have been thinking about the kinds of feelings the disciples of Jesus might have experienced after his resurrection. And, as I said last week, it is possible that fear was one of those feelings. They may have been afraid for a number of reasons. Among other things, they had their own personal guilt to deal with, because they had failed Jesus spectacularly. They let him die. Not that they could have prevented it, of course. Even though they had tried a few times to stop him from going down the path. He would not be stopped. There wasn’t anything much they could do, other than die with him, and how would that […]
Continue readingThe Truth about Belief
John 20:19-31 Many of you know that in the Presbyterian church we have a tradition of confirming young people to bring them into the full membership of the church. It usually requires a series of classes, in which they might learn about Presbyterian polity, doctrine, and whatever is deemed necessary by the particular church. There is a lot of discretion in how the classes are run. But one thing that is not discretionary is the mandatory meeting with the session. Session is responsible for all matters of membership, and it is necessary for the session to “examine” anyone who desires to become a member of the congregation. Usually a confirmation class will meet with the session after they have completed their course of study, and the session members will ask them a few questions to get a feel for what they have learned and how they might talk about their […]
Continue readingRisen
Acts 10:34-43 Luke 24:1-12 This is a very big day in the church. To put it in perspective: Without Easter, we would not be here. Without Easter, the church would not be – period. Without Easter, we would never talk about Jesus – never utter his name. There would be no reason to. This is not because Jesus didn’t do and say things during his life worthy of remembering. Quite the contrary. His teachings and his actions; the stories told of him in the gospels, from beginning to end, are precious gems to us. It’s just that, without Easter, all of those things would be forgotten. Jesus would have been a footnote in history – one more Jew who died by crucifixion at the hand of the Roman Empire. One of thousands who died this way, whose names are not remembered. Without Easter, death would have had the final word […]
Continue readingWhat We All Need
Luke 19: 28-40 Like his many parables, there are some curious and surprising elements in this story. They have been traveling toward Jerusalem. Now they are, finally, almost there. But they pause, unexpectedly, near Bethany and Bethphage, because 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 asked them what […]
Continue readingWhat Really Matters
John 12: 1-8 You can tell, if you pay attention, that Mary and Martha and Lazarus – three siblings – are close to Jesus. They are important people in his life. and that matters. Even at that time, Jesus sort of belonged to everyone. Crowds followed him wherever he went, they all wanted to touch him, talk to him, receive something from him. Everybody wanted a piece of Jesus. It was exhausting for him, as it would be for any of us. He needed to be able to get away now and then, for the sake of his own well-being. And when he did, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were there for him. Maybe you remember the other time he was at their house for dinner. This is told in Luke’s gospel. Martha bustles around preparing refreshment for him, Mary sits at his feet to listen to him. Even though I […]
Continue readingReflections on our First 350 Years
1 Corinthians 3:1-11 It is not known how many Presbyterians there were in this area 350 years ago. What was then all called Somerset County. But we know there were some. There is one name that appears in records from that time – a David Brown. He came here from Glasgow, a self-affirming Presbyterian. His name appears in records dating back to 1670, as he served on several juries and grand juries, as a justice of the peace, a member of the Lower House of Assembly, and a militia officer. Although I cannot give you their names, there is no doubt that David Brown had the company of other Presbyterians in Somerset County. Because there were enough in 1672 to form four worshiping communities alongside the rivers, which were the primary routes of travel back then. It was a ruling of the Somerset County Grand Jury in March of 1672 […]
Continue readingWorthy of Love and Grace
Luke 15: 1-3, 11b-32 This is a parable we love, love, love. Unless, that is, Jesus is telling it to us. Then it is another matter. You know what I mean? It’s a really nice story in the abstract way. Like saying, “I love people. Only, not that particular one, or that one, or that one either.” It turns out that we mean a very specific and relatively small set of people. The first time I realized how hard this parable is was when I was reading it to an adult Bible study group. I looked up at the faces around me and they said, “I don’t like that one.” They didn’t like it because they had taken it personally (which is good.) They had asked themselves, am I as forgiving as this father? Do I want to be that forgiving? And their answer was no. Parables that talk about […]
Continue readingGood Medicine
Luke 13: 1-9 About six years ago I bought two houseplants at a supermarket. I took them home, repotted them, and found what I thought would be good a spot for each of them. But they did not do well. They both seemed sickly. I tried different things – a location with more sun, less sun; more water, less water; a different pot. Nothing seemed to help. They didn’t look healthy. But they didn’t die, either. I couldn’t seem to make them thrive, but I wasn’t killing them, either, so I kept doing my best to care for them. After a few years, one of the plants started perking up. For no apparent reason. It started putting out bright new leaves, it grew full and bouncy, like it just decided one day to pull itself out of this funk and show some self-respect. And I am pleased to say, it […]
Continue readingOut of Control
Luke 13:31-35 Chickens are not really built for flying – at least not much, not anymore. I’ve seen them on occasion make a sort of extended jump into the air, but it’s not as if they can go anywhere. Back when they weren’t as heavy as they are now, they were somewhat better at flying. But they were never very good at it – which makes you wonder why they even have wings. Well, I will tell you this: a chicken’s wings are useful in several ways, but most importantly, a mother hen’s wings can offer protection for her chicks from predators. And most hens will be glad to do it. They will protect their chick, even some other hen’s chicks, and put their own lives on the line when the fox comes prowling around. Chickens are brave and courageous; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I love that, in […]
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