“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 […]
Madness and Crucifixion
Madness and crucifixion 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 by Matt Elia Feb 2, 2014 The prayer I’d like to open with is from Saint Vincent de Paul, a 17th century French priest who spent his life serving the poor. In 1605 he was taken captive and sold into slavery in North Africa. Being freed years later, he […]
Emmaus, hospitality and power
Title: Emmaus, Hospitality and Power Text: Luke 24:13-31 Author: Isaac S. Villegas Date: February 2, 2014 Event: MCUSA People of Color, “Hope for the Future” Place: The National Conference Center, Leesburg, VA Luke 24:30, “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.” He […]
Emmaus, strangers as companions
Title: Emmaus, Strangers as Companions Text: Luke 24 Author: Isaac S. Villegas Date: January 31, 2014 Event: MCUSA People of Color, “Hope for the future” Place: The National Convention Center, Leesburg, VA A stranger in Jerusalem These two disciples, on the way to Emmaus, have been with Jesus. They have walked with him before, from […]
Broken body language
Broken Body Language 1 Cor 1:10-18; Matt 4:12-23 by Isaac Villegas January 26, 2014 The verses we heard from I Corinthians are bad news for preachers. We’re told that all the work that goes into crafting a clever sermon — the revising, the editing, the memorizing, the public speaking exercises — all of it is […]
Baptized into God
Baptized into God Matthew 3:13-17 by Isaac Villegas January 11, 2014 “And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased’” (Matthew 3:13-17). You are my son, my daughter, the one whom I love, the one whom I am well pleased. Who wouldn’t want to hear […]
After Christmas
After Christmas Matthew 2:13-23 by Isaac Villegas December 29, 2013 The Christmas season is full of magic, a season of miracles — Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus surprising children with gifts, stories of angels appearing to shepherds in the night sky, and, the miracle of all miracles, the advent of Christ, God as human flesh […]
On being liked
On being liked Matthew 1:18-25 by Isaac Villegas Dec 22, 2013 Not only does God love us; God also likes us. The story of Christmas tells us that we are not only loved by God, but that God actually likes us. There’s a difference between loving people and liking them. I can think of people […]
Death in the hands of life
Death in the Hands of Life Third Sunday of Advent, Dec 15, 2013 By Scott Schomburg Matthew 11:2-11 In the world of Matthew’s Gospel, death has broken loose. Its kingdom is on the offensive. It terrorizes. Annihilates. Threatens. Herod’s massacre jolts us into world ordered by death. Disease invades life. Death’s relentless force designates some […]
Advent fire
Advent Fire Matthew 3:1-12 by Isaac Villegas Dec 8, 2013 On this second Sunday of Advent, we talk about fire. Not just the flicker of a candle, but flames, blazing. Christmas brings a baptism of fire. The advent of Jesus means fire. John the Baptist tells us so, when he appears near Jerusalem, with bugs […]