Irreverently Reverend

  Sixth Sunday of Easter Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  2  And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  3  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and be their God; 4  he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” 5  And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  6  Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the sp...

  Ordinary Time On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters;  5  but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.  6  Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb.  7  So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat.  8  Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?” 9  After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord.  10  She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. ...

  Third Sunday of Ordinary Time Picture this:   three and a half days of sitting with a laptop on a Zoom webinar with 1,000 other people around the state of Michigan worshipping, arguing, asking, clarifying, calling for final votes, and wondering what on Earth is on the bishop’s tie today.           Welcome to virtual Annual Conference.           To those just joining us it may seem like you picked the one day of purely internal business but this is part of who we are.   We United Methodists are a connectional church, so when you get St. Luke’s you also get Michigan, and you get the Northcentral Jurisdiction, and you get The United Methodist Church as a global body.   We lean into each other, tapping the deep roots of shared mission and resources that crisscross the world.   It can be really, really cool.   And, it can be pretty awful. Because organizations need,...

  Palm Sunday When Jesus and his followers approached Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives. Jesus gave two disciples a task,  2  saying to them, “Go into the village over there. As soon as you enter it, you will find tied up there a colt that no one has ridden. Untie it and bring it here.  3  If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘Its master needs it, and he will send it back right away.’” 4  They went and found a colt tied to a gate outside on the street, and they untied it.  5  Some people standing around said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”  6  They told them just what Jesus said, and they left them alone.  7  They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes upon it, and he sat on it.  8  Many people spread out their clothes on the road while others spread branches cut from the fields.  9  Those in front of him and those followi...