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When I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars You fixed firm, what is man that You should note him, and the human creature, that You pay him heed, and You make him little less than the gods, with glory and grandeur you crown him? [Psalm 8:4-5]. For a number of years now, Jane and I have joined some of our closest Erskine College/Gastonia friends for a Spring get-together, either on Edisto Island or Pawley’s Island. The beach house on Edisto offers an unusual vantage point. Many ocean-front homes provide a beautiful sight of the morning dawn, since the sun rises in the east.…

John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us [Mark 9:38]. About a half dozen folks who routinely read these weekly meditations shared the second grade with me back in 1958-59. Mrs. Davis, who taught about 40 miscreants at Robinson School (Gaston County) took neither nonsense nor prisoners. Once, when an errant marble had slipped from the jeans pocket of brother, Todd, during a rest period, Mrs. Davis made him stand before the others in the class, empty his pockets, and deposit his entire marble collection into the “special jar” that she kept…

Then he took a little child and put it among them, and taking it in his arms he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me" [Mark 9:36-37]. The irony in this week’s Gospel lesson, Mark 9:30-37 [the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, RCL, Year B] is palpable. The disciples, unable themselves to cast out a demon from a possessed boy—Jesus always has to do the heavy lifting—find themselves in an argument about who among them is greatest. The disciples would have been comfortable within our society. Being gentle, meek, and kind all…

Losing Lives He called the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it …” [Mark 8:34-35]. Some years ago, at a Divinity School conference on church communication, we spent considerable time discussing how to make churches more appealing and accessible to newcomers, especially young families. We debated everything from signage to parking lots, noting the growth in non-denominational congregations, and how…

He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs” [Mark 7:27-28]. In last week’s Gospel, Jesus confronted “the Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law” [Mark 7:1] regarding their holier-than-thou attitude, reminding them—without criticizing the Jewish law itself—that nothing outside a person could defile; it was what came from within a person that defiled [Mark 7:15]. As if to illustrate that very point, in this Sunday’s Gospel lesson, Mark 7:24-37 [the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, RCL,…

So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat with defiled hands?” He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition” [Mark 7:5-8]. Mark records miracle feeding stories in the chapters that we number 6 and 8 of his Gospel. In chapter 6, Jesus feeds at least 5,000 persons with five loaves and two fish.…

And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.” Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God” [John 6:65-69]. Three years ago today, a close friend, Rick Jenkins, died here in Durham. A number of you, particularly those in Carolina Arbors, knew Rick…

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I should give you” [1 Kings 3:5]. While some—perhaps many—might not recall the specifics of how Solomon came to be gifted with wisdom, few within our Judeo-Christian society would be unaware of that important Solomonic characteristic. Indeed, politicians, church and business leaders, educators, and others are often invited to exercise “the wisdom of Solomon.” And, of course, who can forget Solomon’s wise solution to the question as to which of two women was the mother of one baby [1 Kings 3:16-28]? This week’s OT reading [1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14, the Thirteenth Sunday after…

Introduction This week’s Gospel reading [John 6:35, 41-51, the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, RCL, Year B] confronts us with Jesus’ provocative self-identification, “I AM the bread of life” [John 6:35a]. In this week’s reading, Jesus repeats his statement three more times. His was not a slip of the tongue. For years now, I’ve been struck by a verse that follows this week’s lesson: From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him’ (John 6:66). The Gospel writer’s stark statement reveals the shocking impact of Jesus’ words on His original audience. To devout Jewish believers of the time, Jesus’ statements about eating His flesh and drinking…

So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us, then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. [John 6:30-32]. As we turn to this week’s Gospel lesson, John 6:24-35 (Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, RCL, Year B), we encounter a somewhat beleaguered Jesus. The ink on…