~creating community for clergywomen~
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! But not quite yet. For church professionals, we first have to endure the hard and holy week leading up to Easter. We live out the mental, emotional, and spiritual drama in real time. On Maundy Thursday, we may wash feet or share Communion, or both (hopefully with some… Read More
There it is: Holy Week. At long last, after the fullness of the Lenten season — the extra workload in your faith community, the extra discipline in your spiritual life, the extra chocolate to counter the stress of the extra workload — now at last Holy Week is in sight. Now at last, the emotional… Read More
Only human beings can take a text like “the poor will always be with you” and turn it into a hammer text. The first time I heard that some people thought that John 12:1-8 was about Jesus commanding us to keep people poor in this text, my jaw dropped. Not only does this turn something… Read More
With suicide in the U.S. headlines once again in recent days, I cannot help but hear messages of hope and extravagant love in the texts this week. There is comfort and there is challenge in these passages. What are we willing to risk in order to share hope and healing to those most vulnerable among… Read More
Mother Teresa is frequently credited with the quote, “I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.” A version of that saying shows up in this week’s epistle reading. “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he… Read More
God: “Don’t be afraid. I am your shield. Also, the payoff will be well worth your while.” Abram, asking for a friend: “What kind of payoff? My friend might not be afraid if they know how big the reward will be. But right now, things don’t look promising.” God: “It’ll be seriously big. Land. Children.… Read More
https://www.agnusday.org/comics/269/matthew-04-01-11-2008 We are beginning Lent with temptations, per usual. And as all well known passages, it’s a tricky one to preach on. I fully believe that part of Jesus being fully human means that he was actually tempted by these offers from the devil. He actually does want to eat bread, or die, or rule… Read More
Moses’ shining face, Paul’s proclamation of transformation from glory to glory, and dazzling Jesus on a mountain top. Must be Transfiguration Sunday once again. Who doesn’t need a dose of dazzle to launch us into Lent? These are all odd texts, but there is hope and power embedded in them just waiting to come alive… Read More
Sometimes, it feels like all the world is against you. Everyone is cursing, hating, or abusing you. Nothing is working out the way you want, and all the powers are conspiring against you. Sometimes, this is really the case. When that happens, Jesus has difficult but important advice for us. Love those people anyway. The… Read More
Y’all. I’m scheduled as a guest preacher this coming Sunday … I’ve already submitted my texts from the RCL, sent a sermon title and some hymn ideas … already drafted an outline … but lo and behold! today as I reflect on Sunday’s RCL readings, I’m struck by an entirely different theme. Oy. And so the… Read More
