RoboPreacher

you don't need to look up TheGospel for this Sunday is so interesting, so loaded with humanity, so incredible that the problem for the preacher isn't "what can I preach," but rather "where to begin." The scene is set, right after Jesus heals a Gentile he goes to another town in Galilee, and as he enters the city his entourage is interrupted by another; an entourage of death. A young man; young enough not to be married yet, but presumably old enough to provide some economic support to his widowed mother; has died. There is a funeral procession carrying this young man outside the city, so the mother can bury her son. It is tragic. As the two parties cross paths, however, something remarkable happens. Jesus breaks from the entourage of life, and in so doing, interrupts the procession of the entourage of death. Jesus breaks from his group to cross the boundary of clean/unclean; the boundary of life into death. When Jesus does this, tim...

for your trials & tribulations   The Gospel According to St.John the Eighteenth Chapter! Maybe I spent too much time in Washington, but I just love a political drama. With all this time between the past election and the upcoming lame-duck governing session, I just don't know what to do with myself. Luckily, for all us folks who love salacious news, this week the Gospel if full of political intrigue. The main player is Pilate - he's the big-wig. But, we should add a little nuance. While Pilate was, basically, a mayor-ish person in Jerusalem, to Rome he wasn't big fish. In fact, we can tell that Pilate didn't really have a lot of rank by his post. The Jerusalem post was not the most grandiose assignment. Jerusalem was not part of Pilate's political aspirations, he had bigger plans himself. To be Rome's appointee over insignificant, constantly conflicted Jerusalem was not a high-post at all. More than likely all Pilate's order i...

the lord will rise   The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark the thirteenth chapter!   Well, the election has passed, if you even bother to remember that far back. In fact, last week, during President Obama's first press conference in the White House since the reelection, the President mentioned that it seemed like the election was quite some time ago. If you were to look at the headlines or listen to the news anchors, it would seem that many agree. In fact, jockeying to be the candidate for 2016 has, indeed, already began. The election is already old news...   It would seem the election came down to little more than a football game. In this case the democrats won, we had the post-game wrap-up, and we've moved on to other games to get worked up about and shout at our TVs. But the other things we've moved to, in a way, share a number of similarities to how the election was portrayed and experienced...   Now, we're on to focusing on the ...

life worth living     The HolyGospel according to St. Mark, the twelfth chapter! "But she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." Wow. There is so much that is remarkable going on in this story, but I think the most interesting thing is a detail that we all take for granted...   This story is often called "The Widow's Mite." The story has this name because the two cents that woman had to give were worth a mite - or not much. Another, less popular, name this story goes by is "The Anonymous Widow." Now, both of these titles are just fine, but I do think the title "Anonymous Widow," helps us notice what is so remarkable about this story.   This widow, indeed, was anonymous. We don't know her name, and it is unlikely that the Scribes, those folks giving to the treasury from their abundance, the disciples and perhaps even Jesus knew her name. Yes, she was anonymous. ...