Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 I don’t usually go in to the church on Fridays, but last Friday I was there to meet a couple named Billy and Liz McCullough. Billy and Liz are from Northern Ireland and they are visiting the area indulging Billy’s special interest: Francis Makemie. That’s a name that is very familiar in our region ofthe world. Francis Makemie is known as the founder of several churches on the Delmarva Peninsula, including ours. We all claim our founding date in 1683, because that is the year Francis Makemie arrived on our shores. He was invited to come here by Colonel William Stevens, who was an Episcopalian living in Somerset County. Makemie was apparently a good organizer, because he traveled among the Scots-Irish communities, who were all Presbyterian, and helped them organize into congregations. Later, he helped organize the first presbytery in America in Philadelphia. He was also, I’m guessing, […]
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What the Lord Requires, Part 4: To Look Beyond Ourselves
Luke 12:13-21 I have to wonder what Kenneth Copeland does with this particular passage of scripture. If you don’t know who Kenneth Copeland is, he is a televangelist. He was interviewed recently by a journalist who wanted him to explain why he needs a Gulfstream Jet. This jet he was able to purchase recently thanks to the generous donations of his followers. He needed it, apparently, because two airplanes was not sufficient. It might seem like enough to you and me, but God wanted him to have this third one, this Gulfstream, he told his congregation and he stressed to all his followers on television and online. God wanted him to have it and God wanted them to give him money so he could have it. This reporter asked him to explain why this was so important. He told her he needs it because he simply couldn’t do the work […]
Continue readingWhat the Lord Requires, Part 3: To Persist in Prayer
Luke 11:1-13 Not too long ago, I had a conversation with someone about all the funny superstitions our mothers had. Throw a little salt over your shoulder if you accidentally knock over the salt shaker. Never walk under a ladder or step on a sidewalk crack. Be sure to hold your breath when you drive past a cemetery, lift your feet when driving over railroad tracks, and heaven help you if you should break a mirror. To name just a few. We laughed about these things, but of course in some situations, superstitious acts are deadly serious. I remember a man who wore the same pajamas for a whole football season without washing them because he was convinced the mojo was too great for him to dare mess with. People are hardwired to believe in some kind of supernatural power, and are always trying to harness it to meet […]
Continue readingWhat the Lord Requires, Part 1: To Love Unconditionally
Luke 10:25-37 You have probably heard a dozen sermons on this parable. You know what it’s about, I don’t need to tell you. Maybe we should just skip ahead to our next hymn and get out of here early today. It’s one of the most familiar stories in the Bible. Everyone – whether or not they ever go to church – knows what a Good Samaritan is: a do-gooder; a helpful person. It’s the name of hospitals and counseling centers and homeless shelters and more. Never mind that it once was an oxymoron, as much as “jumbo shrimp” or “boneless ribs” or “entertaining sermon.” We all know that the point of Jesus’ story is that people should be like that – the Good Samaritan – helpful to those in need. It isn’t something I need to tell you today: you know this – and what’s more, the legal expert who approached Jesus knew it. […]
Continue readingGod’s Intervention, Part 4: Working Undercover
2 Kings 5:1-14 Slaves and servants – the ones who are supposed to be invisible – step into the spotlight for a brief moment in this story from Kings. But first, let’s talk about Naaman. Naaman is a great man in the land of Aram; a commander of the king’s army. He is high up on the pyramid. He is respected by all. Everything about Naaman’s life is great, except that he suffers from leprosy. Then one day he learns from an Israelite slave girl about a prophet who can cure him. Naaman knows nothing about prophets, but he knows how to get things done. Naaman is an organization man, so he does what organization men do. He goes up the chain of command. He tells his king about the prophet who can cure him. The king of Aram writes an official letter, on official letterhead, to the king of […]
Continue readingGod’s Intervention, Part 3: New Life in an Old Place
Luke 8:26-39 In the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament, Chapter 16, there is a ritual prescribed for the atonement of sins. Two goats are presented to the Lord. One is offered as a sacrifice. The other goat is taken before the priest, who lays his hands on the head of the goat and recites the whole litany of the sins of the people. Once all the sins have been spoken and transferred onto the head of the goat, it is driven out into the wilderness, far away from the community. It is called the scapegoat. Other ancient cultures had similar rituals. It must have seemed like a good idea at the time, although we don’t think much of it now. Of course, the practice of scapegoating is still quite common, although not usually by conscious intention. The herd of swine in this story from Luke sort of […]
Continue readingGod’s Intervention, Part 2: X-Ray Vision
1 Kings 21:1-21 I don’t know if Elijah loved his job, but I have my doubts. Who could love a job where you have to constantly haul yourself over to the worst king in the history of Israel and confront him with bad news? He might not have loved his job, but he was good at it. He had to be the best because he was dealing with the worst. Ahab was bad enough on his own, but everything was made worse by the fact of Jezebel, his foreign bride. She worshiped strange gods – the Baals, as they are sometimes called – and had strange ideas about the powers of royalty. In other lands in those days, including Jezebel’s homeland, kings had unlimited powers. They could take whatever they wanted to take. And so, it seemed mighty peculiar to Jezebel to find Ahab sulking on his bed like a […]
Continue readingGod’s Intervention, Part 1: The Power of Love
Acts 2:1-21 In my middle year of seminary, I participated in a required cross-cultural experience: a planned three-week trip to another country, someplace that is guaranteed to pull you out of your comfort zone; its primary purpose is to offer students a greater perspective on how faith intersects with culture. The cross-cultural trip might be to India, South Africa, Israel, Guatemala – in my year it was Cuba. There we were kept busy for three weeks traveling around the island meeting with local government officials and church leaders, touring their big medical school and a farming cooperative, and visiting lots of churches. We visited churches of all kinds – Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Pentecostal. From impressive cathedrals to tiny storefronts. One Sunday morning when we were in a city called Ciego de Avila, we managed a double-header. Two congregations had invited us to worship, so our group split up […]
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Acts 16:16-34 Father Gregory Boyle is a Jesuit priest who serves the people of Los Angeles. He works in the poorest neighborhoods with the highest gang activity in a city that is considered the capital of gang activity. His parish is the epicenter of hopelessness. To be born in such a place is not really any different than to be born in prison. The likelihood that a boy born in these neighborhoods will spend time in prison is almost certain – if he lives long enough. Father Greg spends a lot of time visiting the jails, the detention centers, handing out his business cards. He tells them all to look him up when they get out. He knows they will need his help when they get out. He has been doing this for more than 30 years. He started a tattoo removal service early on because of a young man […]
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Acts 16:9-15 John 5:1-9 Of all the stories about healing in the gospels, this one stands out to me as particularly interesting. In part, because it is puzzling. We don’t know exactly what is going on here. Apparently, this pool of water has healing properties, and people come to the waters to be healed of their disabilities. I have no doubt that water has healing properties. Just the other evening, my daughter told me the baby was having a complete meltdown. I prescribed a bath. The peculiar thing about these waters was that, evidently, they would periodically become stirred up, and people believed that the stirring was caused by the presence of divine power. According to the King James Version, only the first person to get in the pool after the waters stirred up would be healed. This seems unfair. And it’s probably not even true, because newer translations have […]
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