According to the scriptures, Jesus parted from his disciples and was carried up into heaven. He disappeared into a cloud. So much art and folk legend is attached to this almost magical understanding of how Jesus left his friends for the last time. The writer could have said, Jesus went around the corner and was…

Our gospel reading is taken from the low point in Jesus’ ministry. Soon, he will go to Gethsemane and on to the Cross. John does not portray Jesus’ agony. Instead, John portrays the truth about Jesus. And the truth is that in his last hours Jesus came to see his disciples in a new way….

We have had an incredible few weeks of International and National current events! All these stories call our attention to massive human suffering, broken lives, pain, and sin in our world. At the same time these stories stir up within us a tremendous sense of empathy and compassion. Today’s scriptures invite us to reach out…

Today is Earth Day. [Christ is Risen! Still. Easter is such a momentous joy that it takes us fifty day to unwrap and enjoy its gift. Besides being the fourth Sunday in Easter, today we also prepare to celebrate Earth Day tomorrow. Our readings point to this Easter joy, but also to the gift that…

Lots of Good Shepherd readings this Sunday — Ezekiel, the 23rd Psalm, 1 John — if we can count “children of God” as sheep, and the Gospel according to John. The analogy of God as Shepherd and human beings as sheep is one of the most persistent in scripture, both Old and New Testaments; yet…

Imagine being married for 13, 14, 15, maybe even 20 years or more…and thinking that things were generally pretty good between you and your spouse. There were occasional ups and downs, like every marriage. And then, out of the blue one day your spouse comes to you and says, “I’ve filed for divorce.” After the…

Jesus said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. The sharing of food with the disciples was one of the primary elements of Jesus’ resurrection appearances. He had supper with two disciples on the road to Emmaus….

“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews,…” For fear of the Jews…. Who were the disciples afraid of, really? Exactly who was threatening them, who might be after them? John is different than the other three gospels,…