In the Lectionary
Forgiven and forgiving: Matthew 18:21-35
We do not abandon others, and we refuse to be abandoned ourselves.
Simon the supportive: Matthew 16:21-27
Peter tries to be supportive. Jesus calls him Satan.
Two churches: John 17:1-11; Acts 1:6-14
I kept losing track of what I was going to say next. Yet it may have been my best sermon.
At home in God: Psalm 23
Whether we are sheep or people or runaway bunnies, we cannot run away from God.
Holy heartburn: Acts 2:14a; 36-41; 1 Peter 1: 17-23; Luke 24: 13-35
Again and again in scripture, pounding hearts become burning hearts.
Jesus appears: Acts 2:14a; 22-32; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31
As a seminarian, I never seemed to be there when Jesus arrived.
We have seen the Lord (John 20:1-18)
"Were you there?" asks the song. No, no one was.
A sense of ending
In the 2,200 pages of Boswell's Life of Johnson, the protagonist's death is dispensed with in 36 pages.
Acknowledgment (John 9:1-41)
"You can't be born again," I said, "you're a Lutheran. You are the chairman of the board of trustees."
Strangers in the night: John 4:5-42
Only one who loves you knows your deepest desires.
Pick it up, read it: John 3:1-17
Embracing Jesus as the Christ means becoming a new person, not a better one.
The journey begins: Matthew 4:1-11
Neither the journey nor the wilderness comes naturally to Americans anymore.