Irreverently Reverend

  First Sunday of Christmas In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of ...

  Ordinary Time Then he went home, and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat.  21  When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.”  22  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.”  23  And he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?  24  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  25  And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand .  26  And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come.  27  But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. 28  “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and w...

  Trinity Sunday Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him, but they doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “ All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you . And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age .” (NRSVue)             A congregant said to a colleague of mine once that she clearly needed to have some extra training as a pastor because the congregation wasn’t growing.   My colleague asked what the congregant was doing to grow in their own faith and the person looked at her with scorn; the purpose of a pastor is to grow a church, they said, and to make sure there were people to step up to take over leade...

  Epiphany Sunday 1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."   3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" 7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.   8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word ...