05122021 – John 15. 9-17 Way back on Maundy Thursday, (Holy Thursday,) in the life of the church, Jesus continued his teaching…The clock was ticking…and the hour was growing late. It was just “mere hours” before his series of trials and his crucifixion…and his excruciating death…would begin. We assume, he knew what laid […]
05082021 – John 15. 9-17 Easter6B (Mother’s Day Weekend) There’s SOMETHING about mothers…They have this “amazing ability” to hear A SNEEZE or a MUFFLED COUGH, through three closed doors in the middle of the night, upstairs or downstairs, at least three rooms away…all the while dad is snoring up a storm – next […]
03242021 – John 12. 20-33 Lent 5B This is all about “Jesus’ hour.” It is a “big thing” in the Gospel of John. Jesus knows “his hour” is coming. He “waits for it.” Like, the disciples wait for the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. It is “a kairos moment.” A fifty-cent-Greek-word that […]
03202021 – John 12.20-33 Lent 5B People DO NOT understand THE TIMELINE: As the gospel opens, we meet Jesus, six days before he was going to die. He KNEW it was coming. He SENSED it was coming. He FELT it looming over him. It was “SO CLOSE” he could almost taste it. […]
03172021 – John 3. 14-22 Lent 4B Our Gospel text for this evening – happens to contain what has been called “the greatest verse IN ALL THE BIBLE.” People “in the know” – tell me it is “the best LOVED” and “THE BEST-KNOWN” of all verses. There are only 25 words in this verse […]
03132021 – Jn3.14-21 Lent IVB I tried my best, NOT to talk about “LOVE.” I do not like sweet, schmalzy, syrupy messages. BUT no matter how hard I tried…I always came back to LOVE. As if, someone NEEDS to hear this. Someone NEEDS to be REMINDED. Someone, somewhere, maybe (HERE) or perhaps (watching at […]
03062021 – John 2. 13-22 Let’s talk about Jerusalem and the Temple and Passover. You do realize Passover was “a big deal.” The population of the Holy City would actually “quadruple” as people made their way to the Holy City. It was THE MOST IMPORTANT festival of the year. Passover lasts for […]
011162021 – John 1. 43-51 Epiphany II On the church calendar the season AFTER Christmas is called Epiphany. “Epiphany” is not a word – used frequently. The word has two meanings. First, epiphany can mean “an appearance or manifestation of God.” This kind of epiphany is sometimes called a theophany, which literally means God-appearance. […]
01022021 – John 1. 10-18 The author of the FOURTH Gospel, whom we call “JOHN” (merely out of a sense of convenience,) provides his DOCTORAL “THESIS STATEMENT” boldly at the END (rather than at the beginning) of his gospel: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which ARE NOT written […]
12162020 – John 1. 6-8, 19-28 Advent IIIB The message of John was so SIMPLISTIC, so unpretentious…and IT IS one – many of us could heed…or at very least, acknowledge…and listen to… What John is saying to those who come to “question HIS authority…” They question his right to speak PUBLICLY… […]