[RCL] Acts 9:1-6, (7-20); Psalm 30; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19 “The world is a circle without a beginning and nobody knows where it really ends.” Those are the opening lines of a song sung by Liv Ullman in the movie Lost Horizon. That song seems like a perfect metaphor for today’s gospel; Jesus’ third and…

Today, it’s all about lambs and sheep. Don’t we like driving by a farm or ranch and seeing the cute, docile creatures in a field? Sometimes, wouldn’t we like to stop and feed them like Jesus told Peter to do? Don’t we just love cozying up to little lambs in the petting zoo? And don’t…

John’s Gospel ends with four appearances that the resurrected Jesus makes to different groups of disciples: four scenes of Christ revealed alive, four assurances that death could never contain the life that Jesus lived and lives. First, on Easter Day, we heard how Mary encountered Jesus in the garden outside the tomb, and mistook him…

In today’s gospel story of breakfast on the beach, we enter further into the Easter season, and the work of Easter: working out what it means to have Resurrection set loose in the world, in the church, and in our lives. One of the oddest experiences of Easter is that it can feel empty, after…

Today’s scripture readings are replete with hopeful images and stories. In today’s psalm, David exalts God who has lifted him “out of the depths,” healed him, and brought him “up from the grave.” God turns David’s “wailing into dancing.” In the reading from Revelation, millions of angels sing in a “loud voice.” Imagine being there…

Saul heard a voice from heaven. It was Jesus, whom he had been persecuting. It came suddenly, and a light from heaven flashed around him. The experience was so intense that Saul fell to the ground. The light was so strong that he was blinded. After his encounter with the light and the voice, Saul’s…

For centuries, in many parts of the Early Church, virtually all baptisms were reserved for the Great Vigil of Easter. The entire year was built around this, and the centrality of Easter Baptisms was shown in many ways. One of these ways is still very much with us. The readings from scripture we hear during…

In our Collect for this Third Sunday of Easter, we read, “Open the eyes of our faith that we may behold him in all his redeeming work.” This is what is happening in today’s Gospel. Peter and a group of other disciples once again have an experience of the resurrected Jesus. Once again the eyes…

Children’s books with names like One Fish, Two Fish; Red Fish, Blue Fish. Screen savers on our computers that pretend to be an aquarium. Long weekends in the north woods, on silent lakes waiting for the first nibble on the line, or sea stories about “the one that got away.” It seems like fish turn…