July 20, 2014 - Proper 11A

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Life isn’t fair. It’s a truth we all know, but that doesn’t make it any easier. How do you respond to the fact that life isn’t fair? By having a me versus the world mentality? By pessimism? By blaming God and others when things don’t go your way? While those might be some of the first responses, they are not the sort of response suggested in today’s readings. It has been said that parables are earthly stories with heavenly meanings. Today’s gospel narrative about the farmer who awakens to find that an enemy has sowed bad seeds among his crops isn’t fair on several levels.

The Heart of Worship

I recently read two articles that have been conversing with each other in my head over the past few weeks. The first comes from the local Greensboro paper about the use of social media and technology in worship. The second argues that we have "ruined" worship by making it about us instead of God. While these two articles do not overtly contradict each other, there is a clear difference in the theologies of worship that is operative in each.

July 6, 2014 - Proper 9A

Lectionary Readings

O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

          In our first reading this morning we heard the wonderful story of the first meeting of Rebekah and Isaac. Isaac needed a wife from his own people, and Abraham had instructed Laban to find a woman with a compassionate heart for his son. He finds the prescribed woman at the well one day, and they lived happily ever after. Except, they didn’t. As the story continues, we learn that Rebekah is unable to conceive a child. And though this was disheartening to the couple, it also put God’s promise into jeopardy. Abraham was promised that his descendents would be as numerous as the stars, and Isaac was the heir. The entire fate of the Hebrew people was dependent upon this marriage between Isaac and Rebekah. As we all know, life is never quite as simple as “happily ever after.” Life, for all of its joys and blessings, is also full of trials and challenges. Most of us can handle good news, but how we respond to the struggles of life will not only say a lot about who we are, but will also dictate how we experience life.