“Now what we expected” Exodus 17 by Melissa Florer-Bixler Sept 28, 2014 Bitter water. Starvation. Now thirst. Three times since leaving Egypt the Hebrews grapple with the possibility of dying in the desert. Three times since they were brought out of slavery the Hebrews murmur amongst themselves. Today’s episode occurs just after the Hebrews grumble […]
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What is this?
What is this? Exodus 16:2-16, Matthew 20:1-16 by Isaac Villegas Sept 21, 2014 The Israelites fear their death, their annihilation in the wilderness, their dissolution in the desert sands. So they look back to Egypt, where life was somewhat stable, predictable, controllable — a familiar life, even if it was slavery. The people say to […]
Forgiveness
Forgiveness Matthew 18:21-35 by Isaac Villegas September 14, 2014 Peter asks Jesus, How many times do I have to forgive? It’s a good question, an important one. After someone has wronged you again and again, at some point, don’t you have to be done with him, done with her? At some point, aren’t you justified […]
Self, Others, God
Romans 13:8-14 by Isaac Villegas September 7, 2014 Romans chapter 13, verses 8 and 9: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law… The commandments are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Somehow I have three things to say about […]
The midwives feared God
“The Midwives Feared God” Exodus 1:8-2:10, Matthew 16.13-30, Romans 12.1-8 by Nathan Rauh-Bieri August 24, 2014 I. In the story that Matt just read for us, we find the descendants of Abraham, the people God foretold would be a blessing to all, growing where they’ve been planted – in the land of Egypt. And then, […]
Voices in the Streets
Voices in the Streets Matthew 15:21-28, Romans 11:1-2a, 29-31 by Meghan Florian August 17, 2014 This week I was glued to Twitter on more than one evening, watching the events in Ferguson, Missouri unfold in the wake of Mike Brown’s murder. In light of these events, today’s gospel passage, one that always frustrates and challenges […]
Give thanks to the Lord
O give thanks to the LORD Psalm 105 & Genesis 37 by Jordan Farrell August 10, 2014 Prayer: God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, be with us here today. Help us to remember and sing of the ways you have already broken into this world, so that we might see the wonderful acts you […]
Wrestling with God
Wrestling with God Genesis 32:22-32 by Isaac Villegas August 2, 2014 It is night, and Jacob is alone. “Jacob was left, alone,” it says in verse 24. This is only the second time in the book of Genesis that someone is said to be alone, the first time since the beginning of creation, when […]
the Sower
The Sower Matthew 13:1-9, Romans 8:1-11 by Isaac Villegas July 13, 2014 I have a bag that I keep in my pantry, a large plastic ziplock bag, filled with packets of seeds, all kinds of seeds — cucumber and zucchini, butternut and summer squash, pumpkin and watermelon, carrots and sweet corn, beets and sugar […]
Paul and the human condition
“St. Paul and the human condition” Romans 7 Thomas Lehman July 6, 2014 An online blog opens its discussion of today’s Romans 7 passage with these words: “If you could ask a dozen New Testament scholars to list the five most difficult passages in the New Testament, most would include Romans 7:14-25 on their list.” […]
Hagar
What troubles you, Hagar? Genesis 21:8-21 by Isaac Villegas What if you were Hagar? What if you were not one of the chosen? What if you were counted among the rejected ones? Hagar is on the losing side of God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah. Yet, for some reason, Hagar stays with God. She stays […]
Cameron Haney
Cameron Haney by Isaac Villegas June 21, 2014 Seven years ago, before Cameron had his stroke, back when Cameron walked without a cane, when he rode the bus by himself, when he spent most of his days out and about, I joined him on one of his visits to an assisted living home. I picked […]
Keeping the lights on
Keeping the Lights On Ps 8, Gen 1:1–2:4, Matt 28:16-20 by Katherine Roberts June 15, 2014 After the fire and wonder in the Acts reading from last week, we return to the beginning, to the creation story in Genesis. The two passages seem quite different, jarring in juxtaposition, even. And yet they are similar in […]
Incline your ear
Incline your ear Psalm 31, Acts 7 May 18, 2014 by Isaac Villegas “Incline your ear” (Psalm 31:2). That’s a line from our Psalm for today. “Incline your ear to me.” It’s a prayer to God, a plea for recognition, for acknowledgement, for the Psalmist to know that she or he has been heard by […]
the gospel of life
The gospel of life 1 Peter 2:19-25, Acts 2:42-47, John 10:1-10 by Isaac Villegas May 11, 2014 Jesus says, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). This is the heart of the gospel, and it’s the theme of John’s Gospel, repeated again and again. John 1:4, “What has come […]
Feasts
Feasts Easter, April 20, 2014 John 20:1-18, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 by Isaac Villegas “Why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” (John 20:15). That’s what Jesus asks Mary, as she panics because the tomb is empty, and she thinks someone stole the body of her rabbi, her friend. “Who are you looking for?” Mary […]
What will become of us now?
What will become of us now? Matthew 27:11-56 By Scott Schomburg Palm Sunday: April 13, 2014 We cry out to you, O Lord, have mercy on us.Call us to you and restore our sight. May we be transformed in order that we ever walk in faithfulness, following you in your way. Amen[i] Here we are: […]
Waiting for God
Waiting for God Psalm 130, Ezekiel 37:1-14, John 11:1-45 by Isaac S. Villegas April 6, 2014 (5th Sunday of Lent) “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the […]
“Is the Lord among us or not?”
“Is the Lord among us or not?” John 4, Exodus 17 by Isaac S. Villegas March 23, 2014 “Sir, I see that you are a prophet,” the Samaritan woman says to Jesus. “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain,” she says as she points to Mount Gerizim, the place where God commanded Joshua to build an […]
How do you know?
“How Do You Know?” John 2:23-3:17 by Ben D. March 16, 2014 Nicodemus often gets a bad rap. Take for example a group that bore his name. In the sixteenth century, during the bloodiest period of the Protestant Reformation, a group of French Huguenots decided that the best way to avoid persecution for their illegal […]
Stones and bread
Stones and bread Genesis 2, Matthew 4 by Isaac Villegas March 9, 2014 Genesis 2:15, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.” Last week I was in a community garden in Palestine, a small plot of land in Beit Ummar, in the […]
a dream of light and songs of sorrow
A Dream of Light and Songs of Sorrow Matthew 17:1-9 by Dave Swanson March 2, 2014 “But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.” What just happened? If you were hearing this story for the first […]
You Shall Be Holy
You Shall Be Holy Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 by Meghan Florian February 23, 2014 Today’s passage from Leviticus, sometimes called a “Holiness code,” provides some pretty clear mandates for how to be in the world as God’s faithful, holy people. You shall, you shall not. Economics, agriculture, justice — you name it, there’s probably an aspect […]
Look!
Look! Isaiah 58:1-9a by Isaac S. Villegas Feb 9, 2014 In Isaiah 58, the people try to get God’s attention: “Why do we fast,” they say to God, “but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” (Isaiah 58:3) But God’s turns the question back on the people, and asks them […]