Relating, Creating, Transforming
Luke 16:1-13 In life, we sometimes encounter confusing and difficult situations. Maybe you are in one of those situations right now. Regardless of the advice that people give you, or conventional wisdom, nothing seems to fit or work. You feel stuck. You are not sure how to move forward. There are no easy answers. This […]
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Luke 7:36 – 8:3 Frederick Buechner[1] wrote: You never know what may cause tears. The sight of the Atlantic Ocean can do it, or a piece of music, or a face you’ve never seen before. You can never be sure. But of this you can be sure. Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially […]
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John 20:19-29 The tomb is still empty. Really, it is. The peeps have been eaten [or at least mostly eaten], the baskets emptied of their sugary substances and plastic grass, and the Easter egg hunts are a distant memory. It’s the week after, and the tomb is still empty. In Luke’s Gospel story, a group […]
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John 12:1-11 Throughout these 40 days of Lent, I’ve been asking this question: What does it mean for me be truly myself? And I encourage you to do the same. While we ask that question of ourselves, we are journeying with the story in the Gospels, following Jesus’ own journey of self-discovery. Most of this […]
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Luke 15:11-33 From the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scriptures: To practice forgiveness is fasting, good conduct and contentment. Dispelled is anger as forgiveness is grasped. Where there is forgiveness, There God resides. Perhaps there is no more-recognizable story from the New Testament Gospels than the story of the prodigal son. You could make a […]
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Luke 13:1-9 Selections from Self, Gautama Buddha If a person holds oneself dear, let one watch oneself carefully. The wise should be watchful during at least one of the three watches. Self is the master of self; who else could be the master? With self a well-controlled a person finds a master such as few […]
Read MoreRomans 13:8-11a Matthew 18:15-20 Sell your crap. Pay your debt. Do what you love. This was the title of Adam Baker’s TED TALK in 2011—the story of how his family moved away from being the “typical” debt-laden U.S. family trapped by the next thing to buy to a family that envisioned freedom from that debt […]
Read MoreMatthew 21:1-11 Hosanna, Hey-sanna, Sanna, sanna, ho! I am conditioned at this time of year to hear that song and to see the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, because I actually saw the original Jesus Ted Neely perform in a live stage version a long time ago. For some reason, it stayed in my mind. […]
Read MoreMatthew 4:12-23 Women fishing in Bangladesh Here’s how this story goes: Jesus just got tested in the wilderness. He then returns to Galilee after his cousin John is arrested for eating too many locusts; or something like that. Then Jesus finds two willing fishermen and begins an adventurous journey with them. This story originates in […]
Read MoreMatthew 3:13-17 Baptism stories are always fun to tell because if you think about it, what is stranger, funnier, or more awkward than dressing up someone in white clothes, sprinkling water on his/her head and rubbing it into his/her hair while people stare? Or, if you come from another tradition, what is odder than dunking […]
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