[RCL]: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15; Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31 We’ve just heard the story that Jesus tells, but I’d like to highlight a couple of details. Jesus mentions that the rich man, who is not named, is feasting sumptuously every day and wearing purple. This guy is ostentatiously rich – filthy rich,…

¡Cómo vuela el tiempo! Hace poco menos de un mes con luces, villancicos, alegría, reuniones en familia y en comunidad celebramos la Natividad del Señor, la llegada de Enmanuel – Dios con nosotros. Esa llegada de Jesús al mundo es el amor infinito de Dios que tomó nuestra condición humana y vino a vivir entre…

Remember the old gospel hymn, “When the roll is called up yonder”? Today’s scripture challenges Christians’ exercise of God’s gift to servant ministry and how we will respond to God when we are called to share in God’s “glory.” Throughout our lessons Joshua, David, Paul, and Jesus lay challenges of servant ministry before us. It…

Eddie was the extrovert in the community for the disabled in the assisted living unit. He always plunked himself down right in the middle of where the action was – in a chair by the mailboxes, at the entrance to the dining room, or right in front of the TV in the sitting room. He…

[RCL] Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33 Our gospel today begins with some of Jesus’ most controversial words in the New Testament. “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” That sounds pretty intimidating!…

One of the hallmarks of modern society is a yearning after justice. Or at least we like to hope–or perhaps pretend–that it is. Justice is an ideal that stands over our political systems and it is the standard against which those systems are judged. We pray for justice: “I ask your prayers for peace; for…

The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard The Scripture today resonates with the challenge, “Come, labor on.” It has been said that we are what we do all day so that’s probably why we so often ask people we have just met, “What is it that you do?” In fact, our labor has such…

A good father flies kites with you at the park.A good father takes you fishing.A good father takes good care of you.A good father keeps you out of trouble.A good father loves you (and gives you just a sip of his beer). Bart was 13 years old when he prepared a Father’s Day card that…

¿Han experimentado alguna vez en su vida una gran sensación de vacío? ¿Han sentido como si algo les hiciera falta? No importa lo que hagan, cuán duro trabajen, adónde vayan, qué metas intenten lograr, nada puede llenar ese vacío. El trabajo, el juego, los amigos ni la familia logran calmar esa sensación de vacío, ni…

Do you sometimes get turned off by “religion talk”? Or do you think that the vocabulary and jargon used by many Christians somehow makes an ordinary idea so religious that it doesn’t apply in day-to-day living? Such a word is “grace.” It sounds so pious and out of reach. So when a prayer, one of…