Tag: Holy Week
-
On Days Like This – A Sermon On John 18:1-19:42 For Good Friday
I used to try to understand, explain, or make sense of this day, Good Friday. I don’t anymore. I’ve given that up. What do you say on days like this? What can be said? Besides, most of the explanations that I’ve heard or come up with myself don’t really satisfy. They are mostly ways of Read more
-
Re-membering – A Sermon On John 13:1-17, 31-35 For Maundy Thursday
What comes to mind when you think about Maundy Thursday? Most of us probably think about the foot washing and the last supper. That’s certainly part of what happens on this night, and that’s the focus of tonight’s gospel (John 13:1-17, 31-35). But this night is also the night of the betrayal. After washing the Read more
-
The Messiness Of Betrayal – A Sermon On John 13:21-32 For Wednesday In Holy Week
I don’t know what to make of or do with today’s gospel (John 13:21-32). It raises more questions for me than it offers answers. There are some things that don’t fit or make sense to me. It’s a messy story, betrayals always are. The simplest and easiest thing to do with this story would be Read more
-
The Power Of Holy Week – A Sermon On John 12:20-36 For Tuesday In Holy Week
Yesterday I said that it must have been hard to be Judas. Well, I think the same thing can be said about Jesus in today’s gospel (John 12:20-36). “The hour has come” he says. “Now my soul is troubled.” It must have been hard to be Jesus. I think that is some of the best Read more
-
The Things That Make For Peace – A Sermon Luke 19:28-40 For Palm Sunday
Did anything strike you as strange about today’s first gospel reading (Luke 19:28-40)? Did it sound like something was missing? It’s the familiar Palm Sunday story about Jesus sending his disciples into the village to retrieve a colt for him to ride to Jerusalem. As he rides along people are “spreading their cloaks on the Read more
-
Here’s My Question – An Easter Sermon On Mark 16:1-8
Alleluia. Christ is risen. I wonder what that means for you today and why it matters. I don’t think we can understand what today really means apart from this past week. Without Holy Week we risk coming to this day and asking, “Risen from what?” We risk coming to this day believing it is only… Read more
-
Waiting – A Sermon On Matthew 27:57-66
Here’s my question. What are you waiting for? And what is your hope on this day? The thing that makes Holy Saturday so difficult, that makes this gospel text so unsatisfying, that leaves my sermon lacking is that there is no resolution. There is only waiting. You’ve had days like that, so have I. And… Read more
-
Working Out Our Life – A Palm Sunday Sermon On Mark 11:1-11
What if Jesus is more like us than we know or want to admit? What if Jesus was always working it out just like we are? What if he struggled with life and death in the same way we do? What if Holy Week for Jesus and for us is a week of figuring it… Read more
-
Holy Week And Easter In The Season Of COVID-19
Whether it is the four seasons of the year or the seven seasons of the liturgical year, each season is a lens through which we see and experience life. Each season offers a unique perspective on life, highlights certain events, and emphasizes particular activities. This year, in addition to the usual and familiar seasons, there Read more
Interrupting the Silence 