Irreverently Reverend

  Trinity Sunday In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne, the edges of his robe filling the temple.  2  Winged creatures were stationed around him. Each had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew about.  3  They shouted to each other, saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of heavenly forces! All the earth is filled with God’s glory!” 4  The doorframe shook at the sound of their shouting, and the house was filled with smoke. 5  I said, “Mourn for me; I’m ruined! I’m a man with unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips. Yet I’ve seen the king, the Lord of heavenly forces!” 6  Then one of the winged creatures flew to me, holding a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs.  7  He touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips. Your guilt has departed, and your sin is removed.” 8  Then I heard the Lord’s voice saying, “Whom should I send, and who wi

  Pentecost When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.  2  And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  3  Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.  4  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 5  Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.  6  And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.  7  Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?  8  And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?  9  Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,  10  Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors fr

  Seventh Sunday of Easter 9  If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.  10  Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.  11  And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  12  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.   (ESV)               I’ll admit, this has not been my favorite passage to work on unpacking.   It’s short, it’s repetitive, and it shades a bit too closely to all the churchgoers who threatened me with the fires of Hell far from eternal life when I was a kid for my swearing or my desire to wear shorts as a girl

  Sixth Sunday of Easter Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.  2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.  3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.  4  For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.  5  Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6  This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth . (ESV)               I finally broke down and did my taxes this week.           Cutting it close, I know, but I think many of us can understand the “everything else was more important” method of dealing with the task.