Fear is one of those English words that has a broad range of meanings, especially when it comes to translating the Hebrew and Greek scriptures into English. But perhaps that is not entirely the fault of the English. It appears the Hebrews and the Greeks used their words rather broadly as well. It can meanContinue reading “4 Pentecost 2021”
Tag Archives: Jesus
3 Pentecost 2021
There is no greater act of faith than to make your living off the land, farming, ranching, fishing, etc. For most of humanity’s existence this is how we lived, first as hunter gatherers, then by planting and raising livestock or going out to sea to fish. Only gradually, as we became more efficient at producingContinue reading “3 Pentecost 2021”
2 Pentecost 2021
Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:1 &2) This is the first commandant given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. It is easy forContinue reading “2 Pentecost 2021”
Trinity Sunday 2021
What does God look like to you? In our Old Testament reading this morning, Isaiah is in the temple of Jerusalem where he has a vision of the veil between heaven and earth opening up and immediately above the temple sits the throne of God. This was a common belief at this time that heavenContinue reading “Trinity Sunday 2021”
7 Easter 2021
As many of you know, I enjoy dabbling in genealogy. I especially love reading the old colonial wills because they gave you great insights into the life and relationships of the individual. They all begin with “being of sound mind” much as ours do, but then many of them unashamedly admitted the “uncertainty of life”Continue reading “7 Easter 2021”
6 Easter 2021
While still in the midst of Easter we are asked to look back at Jesus’ last night with his disciples, just hours before his arrest. We hear stories of people calling their loved ones in the middle of a disaster – the plane you are in is going to crash, your house has been washedContinue reading “6 Easter 2021”
5th Sunday of Easter 2021
“I am the vine, you are the branches.” (John 15:5a). This is a beautiful passage that we love to use to decorate everything from tea cups to T-shirts, but have you every really taken the time to read the full passage and digest all that Jesus is saying? He begins, “I am the true vine”Continue reading “5th Sunday of Easter 2021”
4th Sunday of Easter 2021
The story of the Good Shepherd is one most of us have heard many times and it brings to mind the pastoral images of Jesus as sweet and kind, but I want us to look closer at this story and what it is saying about who Jesus is. To do so, I want to backContinue reading “4th Sunday of Easter 2021”
2 Easter 2021
It is odd, and a little sad, that what history – the human memory of the past – remembers is when someone stumbled or fell, when they made a mistake, an incorrect statement, or even just hesitated. And right now, it seems that we go out of our way to look for people’s errors toContinue reading “2 Easter 2021”
Good Friday 2021
Several times in the gospels, Jesus challenges one or more people to “take up [your] cross, and follow me.” This challenge is found in all three of the synoptic gospels, and occurs long before Jesus is crucified. So what did the cross represent before Jesus’ crucifixion? What was Jesus telling the people to do? CrucifixionContinue reading “Good Friday 2021”
The Rev. Beverly Patterson 