Irreverently Reverend

  Second Sunday of Easter Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and she told them that he had said these things to her. 19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands an...

  Blue Christmas/Longest Night (last week of Advent) We know that the whole creation is groaning together and suffering labor pains up until now.   And it’s not only the creation. We ourselves who have the Spirit as the first crop of the harvest also groan inside as we wait to be adopted and for our bodies to be set free.   We were saved in hope. If we see what we hope for, that isn’t hope. Who hopes for what they already see?   But if we hope for what we don’t see, we wait for it with patience. In the same way, the Spirit comes to help our weakness. We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit himself pleads our case with unexpressed groans.   The one who searches hearts knows how the Spirit thinks, because he pleads for the saints, consistent with God’s will. (CEB)             One of my favorite book series is The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper.   It’s been on my mind this week because the BBC...

  Ordinary Time John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, " Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes...

  Ordinary Time So the Lord sent Nathan to David. When Nathan arrived he said, “There were two men in the same city, one rich, one poor.  2  The rich man had a lot of sheep and cattle,  3  but the poor man had nothing—just one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised that lamb, and it grew up with him and his children. It would eat from his food and drink from his cup—even sleep in his arms! It was like a daughter to him. 4  “Now a traveler came to visit the rich man, but he wasn’t willing to take anything from his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had arrived. Instead, he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the visitor.” 5  David got very angry at the man, and he said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the one who did this is demonic!  6  He must restore the ewe lamb seven times over because he did this and because he had no compassion.” 7  “You are that man!” Nathan tol...

  Ordinary Time A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack . Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them eat.”  43  But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” So he repeated, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’”  44  He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord .   (NRSV)               Toward the beginning of lockdown last year, it seemed that everyone and their mother was making bread.   Hands up, how many of you had sourdough starter?   I didn’t get on that train but oh, how many people I knew did.   I remember my poor friend Sid grieving over having accidentally killed his sourdough starter and my friend John delighting in everyon...