Category: Sunday Worship

The Pharisees asked Jesus: “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders?” They are defiled. Have you ever thought of someone like that? That they’re defiled? That they’re garbage, trash, worthless, hopeless, not welcome here – to be regarded with suspicion and treated with contempt. Have you ever thought of…

It’s a miracle to come together for Sunday worship. It tempers our independence and reminds us of our commonality. Regardless of our differences, we each worship a God who accepts us just as we are and invites us to receive the life and grace of God in our lives. Every time we gather, we can…

The crowd is hungry, hungry for nourishment, hungry for contentment, hungry for a moment’s peace, hungry for freedom, hungry for a leader, hungry for God’s presence. The crowd is always hungry. They want to be fed, to be led, and to be reassured that they are safe and will be cared for. They have been…

Naming dualities that you see is one way of looking at the world that can help orient you to your surroundings in a way that is helpful. When Walker was a toddler, he vocalized his observations to me all the time. He had designated one of our cars, the SUV, the big car, and the…

I’ve been thinking about the prayers of the people that I share each Sunday. That part of the service partly acts as a foil to the message of the sermon, or as a kind of echo of the Scriptures and themes in worship. So in a way, the prayers of the people are a “fleshing…

“Every valley shall be lifted up.” Every one of them – even the ones we’ve been putting off – every last one of them. Do you know someone who needs to be uplifted? Who do you know who needs to be cared for as one of your own? Who do you know who needs to…

When you set your alarm to snooze another hour, because you can’t bear to leave the bliss of quiet, dreamless sleep; when you pour another glass of something strong, because you don’t want to face the pain and sadness that threaten to come out if you don’t; when you hit rock bottom, and you refuse…

Some of us are angry today.[i] Some of us have been angry at various points this year. Some of us have been angry the past several years, over the way things went. Some of us are angry that people can seem so inhuman to us. And some of us are angry that others misconstrue their…

A friend of mine once served as the associate pastor of a large suburban congregation. She was early in the first appointment of her pastorate, and compared to the more seasoned and restrained senior minister, she was more outspoken, more direct, more forthright in her sense of God’s way of justice and peace in the…

Every year, on November 1, with the characteristic cold of the season settling in, I reread this poem from Mary Oliver. Perhaps you’ve read it, too. Don’t you imagine the leaves dream now how comfortable it will be to touch the earth instead of the nothingness of the air and the endless freshets of wind?…