09262021 – Mark 9. 38-50 “Exclusionary,” it is such an “icky word” isn’t it? To be excluded, to be kept out, eliminated, denied access, rejected, banned, ostracized, prohibited, not wanted or desired. LEFT OUT. You are lucky, you are fortunate, if you have NEVER BEEN EXCLUDED in your life… It just does not sit well. […]
09292021 – St. Michael and All Angels… This day, this night is important in various parts of our world…with a longer and richer cultural history going back even further back in time. Today, is actually known as being “Michaelmas.” And “the whole concept” or idea, makes a great deal of sense…when you pause and think […]
09192021 – Mark 9. 30-37 Goodie Koutalis (a former member, whom we are praying for) posted the following story on Facebook: I thought it would be fun to work with it… The donkey told the tiger, “The grass is BLUE.” The tiger replied, “No, the grass is GREEN.” The discussion became HEATED, and the […]
09182021 – Mark 9. 30-37 Children had “no social status” within a village community. When asked to name a story about “a child in the Hebrew Bible,” many people might think of David and Goliath. The “young David,” unable to hold a sword or carry the weight of military armor, faces-off…with “the giant Philistine” — […]
09152021 – Mark 8. 27-38 Small little Jewish children were at one time taught… “And one day there will be an incredible victorious military battle…” It was something they could taste, envision, and see…their imaginations could run wild. It was something to long for and to hope for… It was “a really popular story” […]
09112021 – Mark 8 – Peter’s Confession Have you ever been insulted, publicly shamed, embarrassed? Have you ever felt so mortified, degraded, and crushed by the comments of someone else? Poor old Peter, felt like he had become a laughingstock! So, he wasn’t the “sharpest tool in the tool shed.” He meant well. He tried […]
09082021 – Mark 7. 24-37 There is so much that is different in the recording of music today. Microphones are so much stronger and cheaper. They pick up the slightest of sounds and almost every breath. The majority of equipment can be purchased locally at a Radio Shack Store or easily online. In the earliest […]
09042021 – Mark 7. 24-37 It is an “old” often referred to story: the Washington Post conducted an experiment about our failure to listen, our failure to hear, our failure to notice, maybe even our failure to be touched by the beauty that surrounds. Many of us, just go through this life being oblivious. Its […]
08182021 – John 6. 51-58 It is not good to be misunderstood. Or to be misread. Or to be taken out of context. Or sometimes, to be taken literally… It can result badly. That’s the case of tonight’s gospel text, Jesus’ words are misunderstood and taken literally. Remember we are in John’s gospel. What […]
08212021 – John 6. 56-69 You know I DO NOT talk about politics… Politics, in and of itself, by its nature, seems to be “pretty divisive stuff.” Us against them, kind of rhetoric…drawing lines in the sand… People can be such die-hards, and so sure of their stance…and of the correctness of their position… Sometimes, […]