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Got It.......Finally! (May 16) 2010-05-14 by Tim Norton Submit a Question | Submit an Article What impresses me most about both the Acts and John readings is that Jesus shows that his concern, throughout all his ministry, is that his disciples finally get it, that they finally understand his message so they can spread his Word throughout the world after he is no longer physically with them. The John passage shows Jesus in Gethsemane praying and waiting for the betrayal and arrest he knows is coming. We often mark this during his Passion and show it as a time of Jesus’ questioning and “wrestling” with his God-given mission. I wonder if that interpretation is even accurate at all. As I read it in this light, it seems to me Jesus fully accepts his duty and that his only concern centers around how his ministry will proceed after the demoralizing effect his trial and crucifixion will have on his disciples - a total and utter selfless dedication to his mission and service to the will of the Father. Then in the Luke passage, what joy and release we see as the disciples do finally get it, finally the veil is lifted, finally Jesus message is received! Oh, that Jesus would open our minds as well, that we could understand the scriptures with such certitude! Pastor, talk to me about the coming of the Holy Spirit, about opening my mind and lifting the veil from my eyes that I might know Jesus better, that I might follow him more nearly. As I celebrate Christ’s ascension with new understanding this week, help me have the same joyful reaction as did the disciples, blessing God in the temple, and eagerly awaiting the Holy Spirit and the great new commission that is before all of us. In a Strange Land (May 9) 2010-05-05 by Tim Norton Submit a Question | Submit an Article What a leap of faith Paul and his colleagues are taking here! (Acts 16: 9-15) “Crossing over” to Macedonia was no walk in the park. It involved sailing on a ship over the sea to Greece, a foreign country, and heading to a Roman colony. I would guess that might be like someone like myself traveling without a Visa to a country whose language I don’t speak, and setting up shop as an outlaw. How wonderful receiving the Holy Spirit on that Pentecost must have been, for this ragtag group of renegades to leave all the comforts of home to sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land. Then they found Lydia, a worshiper of God, who received baptism then and there, made a home for them while they were in Macedonia, and provided care and sanctuary after their ordeal in the Greek prisons. She was a surrogate mother for them while they were strangers in a strange land – such a loving model and what a great story for Mothers’ Day. Hallmark can’t even top that!Even the Gentiles (May 2) 2010-04-27 by Tim Norton Submit a Question | Submit an Article What jumps out at me about the Acts passage is the way the circumcised believers, having learned from Peter of his vision, accepted that God has included “even the Gentiles” to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and praised God. Speaking as a Gentile myself, I am comforted and encouraged by that knowledge – but also a bit confused. We Gentiles proclaim with a great certainty that all authority in heaven and earth belongs to the God the Son, that God the Holy Spirit moves where it will and breathes life into whomever it chooses, and God the Father so loved the (whole) world, the he sent his only Son. So why is it that, having received and freely accepted the wonderful gifts from God, we Gentiles think we can decide who should receive the gospel, who can receive the gifts of the Spirit, and who can be ordained to preach the Good News? If all authority, power, wisdom, strength, honor and glory belong to Christ, as we aver and has been proclaimed for us, then we are not doing a very good job of practicing (or believing) what we preach. When we enact laws that discriminate against ethnic or social groups among us, when we think we have the authority to decide who can and cannot receive the sacraments, when we “overlook” the plight and suffering of folks in our midst because it’s not convenient, when charity might actually cost us something – then we are making profane, as Peters relates, what God has given as pure. We do not have the right, or the authority, or the wisdom to decide these things, yet we continue to parcel out the Word of God, as if it were our own. Pastor, talk to me about receiving the Holy Spirit anew. Pentecost is fast approaching and the worldly issues and confrontations come up just as fast. Teach me how the Holy Spirit can calm our fears, ease our worries, energize our weary, and bolster our bravery to confront the challenges we know will come.New and Old (May 2) 2010-04-26 by Winola Green Submit a Question | Submit an Article This new law to love one another is not so new. Been around since the days of Leviticus at least. Love one another is the reason for the 10 commandments, which would not be needed is we indeed loved another, all these commands were given so that love will be extended to all and that no evil comes to anyone. So does this new law replace the old or doesn't it? The word of God and His love was extended to the Gentiles. Thank God. I am always glad to hear that news. Who are the Gentiles today? We are still having trouble extending that love to so many groups because of one thing or another, but what else is new? God we need help with this "new/old law".
Inclusion (May 2) 2010-04-25 by Peggy Dillner Submit a Question | Submit an Article Perhaps because this coming Sunday in our denomination (UCC) is Immigrant Rights Sunday or perhaps in light of the new law signed in Arizona, I am influenced to read these passages through those lenses. We are commanded in John "Just as I have loved you, you should love one another." In Revelations we are told it is a"new heaven and a new earth" which, in my mind, is one of justice and love. The non-discrimination passage from Acts can hardly be clearer. These three passages seem to be calling us to take action for the dispossessed, the voiceless, the faceless among us. What must we do to bring a new earth now? How do we love one another as Christ loved yet retain order at our borders? How do we avoid discriminatory pre-judging due to race, gender, or social status. These are challenging passages for all of us in today's society. There are many sermon possibilities here that congregants would be anxious to hear. [First Page] [Prev] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 [Next] [Last Page] Login - (This login is for administrators and bloggers. Usernames and passwords for GoodPreacher subscribers will not work here.) |
