[RCL] Wisdom of Solomon 1:13-15; 2:23-24; Lamentations 3:21-33 or Psalm 30; 2 Corinthians 8:7-15; Mark 5:21-43 Note: During the 2024 Season after Pentecost, Sermons That Work will use Track 2 readings for sermons and Bible studies. Please consult our archives for many additional Track 1 resources from prior years. Think for a moment of someone…

RCL: 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27; Psalm 130; 2 Corinthians 8:7-15; Mark 5:21-43 In today’s Gospel, we hear two stories of healing. They are also stories of hope—a bold, persistent, expectant hope. First, we are introduced to Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, who emerges from the crowd that meets Jesus as he disembarks from a…

Jesus sees beyond the outward appearance to the heart, revealing, as he does so, the very heart of God. A crowd presses in on Jesus, clamoring to see the miracle worker some were claiming to be the Messiah. As he makes his way to Jairus’ home, he is interrupted by an encounter with a woman…

Today’s readings reinforce for us the undeniable reality that suffering is not unique to us or to our times, and that we know very little about the ultimate meaning of death. Wars, hunger, economic disasters abound and bring us to despair; personal illness, pain, and loss in our families cause us to lose hope. Sometimes…

“God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living.” What do you think about that verse from the Wisdom of Solomon? If God didn’t make death and doesn’t delight in the death of the living, then why do people we love die, and who thought up heaven and…

Maybe you saw the movie “The Godfather, Part II.” In that film, the Mafia godfather, Don Corleone, goes to Rome to negotiate a business deal with the Vatican. He is not interested simply in business; he wants to gain respectability. There in Rome he meets with Cardinal Lamberto, who asks if he would like to…

“He strictly ordered them that no one should know this….” What a peculiar way to end a miracle. After all, this is the sort of thing everybody was looking for; this is the sort of thing that would be great press; and it was the sort of thing that would really make his reputation. But…

A commentary on our Gospel lesson, the story of Jesus’ raising of Jairus’ daughter, suggests that “stories like this one seem to promise too much.” (New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. VIII, page 590.) One is tempted to ask, “How much is too much?” In John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “I came that they may have life, and…

Have you ever thought about holy temples? A temple is usually understood to be a place where religious services are held. The Bible is full of references to the temple in Jerusalem. Most of us know of synagogues today that are called temples. Some Protestant churches are occasionally called temples. The Mormons use the term…