Tag Archives: life

If not for love, what are you for?

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Lent 2B, 25 February 2024. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16. Then Abram fell on his face.
  • Romans 4:13-25. Hoping against hope.
  • Mark 8:31-38. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?

O God all sufficient, grant us the wisdom, the strength and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

Last week, on the first Sunday in Lent, we learned that the spirit of holiness can drive a very hard bargain. Jesus, perhaps, in order to understand his mission, was pushed hard into the wild for a quarantine. Then, upon hearing of John the Baptist’s imprisonment and picking up where John had left off, Jesus proclaimed the good news of the realm of the Holy One and taught  that the time is now to turn around (or, to change your channel to see and understand that love is the only way). This week we get a glimpse of why the good news was so dangerous. Continue reading →

Forgiveness

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Easter 7C, 29 May 2022.  The Rev. John Golenski

John 20: 19-31. Jesus appeared and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.  Then the disciples rejoiced when they recognized the Lord.

Like so many of us, I had plans this week.  My plans included the better part of a day preparing this sermon.  Then May 24th in Uvalde, Texas happened.  Sometimes, in spite of everything we intend, Life intrudes with undeniable demands.  No matter how much effort I put into focusing on the Scripture, Uvalde intruded.  So, this is the unintended, unplanned reflection on God’s Word speaking to what is happening now in our country. Continue reading →

Falling toward Life

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Lent 2B, February 28, 2021, The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz.

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16, 18. Then Abram fell on his face.
Romans 4:13-25. hoping against hope.
Mark 8:31-38. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?

O God all sufficient, grant us the wisdom, the strength and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

Once upon a time, when Abram was 99-years old (in other words, when he was as good as dead), he had a vision of the Divine. When the One-Whose-Name-is-too-Holy-to-be-Spoken appeared with a message for him, Abram fell on his face. Was it intentional or unintentional; was his belly-flop in the dirt solely an act of reverence or did he completely lose his balance when the Holy One appeared and spoke? Did his knees buckle; did his equilibrium vanish? The scene is a little funny to me. The voice said, “I am El Shaddai.” This is the first time this term is used in the Torah. El is the Hebrew word for God, but the meaning of shaddai is unknown. Scholars don’t agree about whether it might have to do with wilderness mountains or feminine breasts; but there is wide agreement that it’s inaccurate to translate shaddai as almighty.

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Become trusting!

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Second Sunday of Easter, Year B, April 12, 2015; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Acts 4:32-35 There was not a needy person among them.
1 John 1:1-2:2 If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves.
John 20:19-31 Peace be with you.

O God of hope, grant us the wisdom, the strength and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

 

Many of you know that one of my life projects has to do with increasing literacy, particularly Biblical literacy among progressive Christians, who have tended to cede the Bible to more conservative Christians. For example, I want people to understand that what we call “The Bible” is actually more like a library or an anthology than a book. The anthology contains more than a dozen different kinds of literature – and each kind of literature has different rules and built-in assumptions for understanding it. For instance, one would read biography differently from reading a sermon or an editorial. One would read legislation differently from poetry or a song. It helps to know what type of literature one is reading in order to understand what it might mean or how to apply it to our lives. Unfortunately, figuring out the genre is often complicated by many centuries and many miles of distance, and further complicated by modern inventions – inventions such as the English language, punctuation, customs of printing, etc. Continue reading →