Do you want to be made well?

Easter VI (May 25, 2025)

"Do you want to be made well?" Jesus asks the man who has been sick for 38 years!

The obvious answer should be "yes", but it isn't.  In our lives too, we often fall into cycles and situations in which we are not well, but we aren't quite capable of rising above the situation.

Into this situation comes Jesus, willing to offer compassion and challenge beyond anything we've experienced before.

The art is by Nathan Greene.  You can purchase it here.  I am sensitive to images of Jesus in which Jesus looks European instead of middle Eastern, but I loved the combination of compassion and power in this artist's rendition.

A New Commandment and a New Promise

 

"A New Commandment I give you:  Love one another.   As I have loved you, love one another."

How can Jesus command love, something seemingly impossible to command?  

And what might it mean to love others as Jesus has loved us?

To get at these questions, we look at the setting of Jesus giving this new commandment, namely, when he washes the disciple's feet.  As we ponder this act of service, we discover not only the depth of challenge in Jesus words to love as he loved, but also the word of grace and promise contained in them.

This is a screenshot of an artwork by Alida Bothma.  You can view the Etsy site to purchase the print.

What is your "full" name?

 

Easter IV (May 11 2025)

What is your “full name” — the thing that people say after your name that completes their description of you? 

For example, “That is Jane, she is a great teacher” or “That is Sam, he is an amazing basketball player”

Today we learn the full name of an early believer in the book of Acts (9:36-43):  Tabitha, aka Dorcas, “was always doing good and helping the poor…”  What a beautiful full name!

Pastor Rob offers a word of challenge today:  In your quest to make a good full name for yourself, have you focused on the right things?  It is very tempting to focus on the “resume” virtues instead of the “obituary” virtues!

There is also a profound word of grace today in today’s reading, a reminder that ultimately, God has the last word on our name and not our mistakes, failures or bad things that have happened to us.

Note:  I do not have permission (yet) to post this artwork by a Christian artist named Sarah Beth, but I found it so beautiful!  You can purchase the art here.

Do you love me? A reflection on shame and wholeness

Easter III (May 4, 2025)

The story seems like comfortable at first:  The disciples go fishing, they eat breakfast with Jesus and then Peter tells Jesus he loves him. (John 21:1-17)

But once you start digging, you realize this is a story about the power of shame.  Peter is ashamed of his denial of Jesus and this manifests itself in all sorts of typical shame behavior

• Avoiding
• Covering Up
• Focusing on self and past mistakes

How then can Peter move forward?  How can we move forward in our shame?

It turns out that nice guy Jesus isn’t going to cut it.  Instead, we need the son of the living God to redeem us from sin and shame.

The painting is by Tissot.  It is on display at the Brooklyn Museum of Art

Easter: The place of Memories

Easter 2025

Easter is a time of memories, including memories of our loved ones who have died.

The first Easter, in fact, began with a trip the place of memories — the word for tomb in Greek is memory!

A reflection on memories and how the resurrection changes everything, including how we understand our memories.

The image comes from the Kid’s Corner Bible site.

Good Friday: Where you there?

 

Good Friday 2025

Where you there?  It is a more haunting question than it sounds.  (Based on the passion of John, found in chapters 18-19).

In the end, yes, yes, you and I were there.

 

Donkey Power

Palm Sunday (April 13, 2025)

What does it mean to have power?

The Roman Empire displayed a type of power we know:  The ability to get what you want, when you want it.  Their imperial parades were the example of power, as the leaders rode in on majestic horses.  You could call this horse power.

Jesus offered a different vision of power: The ability to help others.  His parade, as he rode on donkey, showed what this power looks like.  You could call this donkey power.  Helping others through acts of love, humility and service.  Definitely not as glorious in the eyes of the world.  (I mean, really, look at the picture of the donkey.  Not the most inviting!)

A reflection on Horse power and Donkey power. 

Hint: Horse power isn’t all bad, but it finally takes the back seat.

The donkey comes from a blogpost called “Donkeys, Kings and Outcasts“