RoboPreacher

they thin my heart with little things & my life with change A sermon on Jesus' trial before Pilate We’ve all heard that the church and state are a deadly mix. I’m enlightening no one by saying politics and religion are a combustible combination. However , in today’s passage, we see these two forces are plenty fatal all on their own . Although not fatal in any active way. No, what’s really so lethal about these two implements is their ineffectiveness . Their ineffectiveness. The violence is set in motion with a religious concern. The church leaders can’t bring their accusations against Jesus to Pilate. The problem is, if they were to set foot in Pilate’s profane headquarters, they would be defiled . And if that were to happen, these clergy wouldn’t be able to preside at the upcoming high-holy day. In a moment, we’ll discuss how that’s addressed. But for now, it’s enough just to notice the irony of it all. These religious teachers are desperately trying to do in Jesus, the...

use it tonight The Holy Gospel according to St. John the 18th chapter ! It’s like Bob Dylan sung long ago, “And the first one now / Will later be last / For the times they are a-changin’.”   In other words, if we’re going to have half a chance of understanding what’s going on all around us, we going to need how to read the times.   And I don’t just mean just remembering to change our clocks, but discerning the sign of the times themselves… Like this moment in American and world history, as the question is being put to us over and over again. “What time is it.” Is it a time of change , or of holding onto old ways? Or another simple example, the High School walk out. No one seemed quite sure what to make of it. I got the impression not even the students were… Because that’s the thing, isn’t it? It’s hard to know what time it is. It’s never been easy, and it’s not getting any easier over the years.   That’s what’s really at stak...