The story of Jesus’ life and death could have turned out differently, had Pontius Pilate listened to his wife. Kind and intuitive (and unnamed), she is known for these few words: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man [Jesus], for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.” Matthew 27:19 Allow me to paint the story....
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“I did something no mother should ever have to do: I sat with the dead bodies of my beloved sons for five months. Oh, that the soldiers would have killed me instead of them! But it was not to be. My boys were dragged away and publicly executed under the orders of that treacherous King David. Their crumpled bodies were then...
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Read the Witch of Endor’s story: 1 Samuel 28 Profile in history: Low Classic moment Bringing back Samuel’s spirit for King Saul. She also tells Saul he will die the next day. Who was the Witch of Endor? A woman from Endor who could summon the spirits of the dead An independent contractor (paid by the session) A woman living alone An outcast What did the Witch of Endor...
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At age eighteen, I didn’t drink coffee. I was a tea drinker, specifically Earl Gray. But that changed in Puerto Rico one summer when I lived with a family who invited me to stay with them while I worked at their church’s Vacation Bible School. They’d given me the only private room in their small house. I’d have been happy...
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Ethnic boundaries: apparently even Jesus had trouble with them. Case in point: Sunday’s Gospel reading from Matthew 15:21-28. A woman from "the outside," known as the Canaanite woman, spars with Jesus and convinces him to heal her daughter. And Jesus is oddly cranky about the whole thing, at least in the beginning. (Note: The Canaanite woman to which Matthew refers is...
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Jesus’ mother, Mary, is venerated by millions around the world, and will be particularly remembered next Tuesday, August 15th, on her feast day. Honestly, it took me years to relate to her, for she always seemed so untouchable, too far up on a silver platform for me to reach. Of course I knew her story; who doesn’t? But she remained emotionally...
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A sermon preached at Holy Trinity, Elk River, Minnesota on July 2, 2017 Two images from today’s readings stand out like stoplights, blinking in the night. The first, from today’s Gospel, is simple and short. Jesus says: “Whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly, none of these will lose...
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My mother-in-law, Gertrude, was one of the nicest people I’ve known. When she stayed with us, she swept the patio every day. She wiped down the counters and sink every night after dinner. She said she couldn’t do a lot, but she could do those things. One day she held our newborn son as he slept in her arms for...
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Without the sun to heat the Earth, this planet would be dark and cold. And without the women at the tomb on Easter morning, perhaps Jesus would have had to (choose one): 1) wander the streets of Jerusalem looking for his male friends 2) knock on Peter's door 3) hike to Bethany to see Martha and Mary. But the women were there. Each gospel tells the...
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Over sixteen years ago, I had cancer (and have been blessedly cancer-free since then). Walking within sight of the valley of death is a pretty scary place. But I believe in angels. So I looked for an angel during each chemo treatment, each medical procedure, each visit to the hospital. I expected to find one, and most of the time I did. Twice I was...
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