This was a strange place for a Hebrew Rabbi to take his Jewish students. Caesarea Philippi is at the far north – of the land of Israel. It was originally named Paneas, after the Greek god – Pan, the god of music. You may remember seeing his image as the goat/boy – standing on his […]
Ah, Caesarea Philippi – a road trip North only this time, not necessarily into God’s country! Jesus and the twelve were somewhere in the region of the base of Mt. Hermon. It just so happened to be the site of a number of “pagan temples.” You can still walk among these ruins – today – […]
The Canaanite woman had nothing to lose. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. She followed her heart. Her daughter was suffering from a demon-possession that no “shaman” or “physician” or “holy man” could cure. She unfortunately was a member of a “condemned race” that to the Jewish nation – was nothing […]
They say that as you get older it becomes easier to remember things from by-gone days. So, the other night, I am lying in bed and what pops into my mind in the middle of the night but: “Resolved that the Federal Government should adopt a program of compulsory arbitration in labor management disputes in […]
Ah, sweet grace! God is full of grace, compassion, mercy, understanding and is for-ever-flowing with great love. It is a good text, if – rightfully understood. Like all texts – its context is everything. It is easy to get side-lined and miss the point. The focus of Jesus’ ministry was upon the “House of Israel” […]
For the record: even disciples get afraid sometimes. Christians living around the world today are afraid for their safety and for their security. It is ok to be afraid. Sometimes there are good reasons to be afraid. Not all places are safe. Not all people are our friends. Some people will hate us…and will even […]
The name Jesus means “He who saves” or “Yahweh saves” or “He will save.” Jesus is our Savior. And in our Gospel text for this afternoon, Jesus clearly reaches out his hand and quite literally saves Peter. It is an amazing text. It is not about Peter. It is not about walking on water… It […]
You can never be quite sure – what life is going to throw at ya’ next. It can be challenging sometimes. One of our former older members used to say, “It’s a great life, if you don’t weaken!” You can never tell… Nor can you adequately be prepared… You have to be strong. Confidence helps. […]
Yikes! Where is it all going? Middle of August already…almost time for the children to go back to school. Where did the summer go? It was a nice one! A little wet, a little warmth with some breaks in between…nothing too excessive. It’s like May morphed into June which flew into July and now into […]
The feeding of the 5,000 is a remarkable piece of scripture. It is found in all four gospel accounts and in two of the gospels, it is repeated again. Consider that only two of the gospels have birth stories. The story of the “Prodigal Son” and the “Raising of Lazarus” are each told only once. […]