A Look Back A few weeks ago I used this sermon for my Ordination work that I turned into the conference.  This same passage is also a perfect place to spend Mother's Day for this week.  As the disciples are preparing for Pentecost, they are more than likely taking some time to remember the events that led to where they are now. For many of them, this was the first time Jesus performed a miracle in Cana of Galilee which was where his ministry truly kicked into gear.  There is nothing better in this world than for a boy to do than to spend some time with his mama. I know this personally. As a young child, my earliest memory is that of being at my little plastic school desk with the flip top lid and a board full of magnetic letters. It must have been early in the morning. I look over and my mom is half asleep on the couch. We were living in the basement of my grandparents house at the time. I did not have a father in the picture. That's a messier story for anothe...

  These last few weeks we have been covering people that Jesus appeared to after His resurrection. As we move into each one, we also step closer to Pentecost. At the end of the passage today, Jesus officially gives them instructions to prepare. We see a pattern emerging from these interactions with the disciples. A couple weeks ago, we were on the Emmaus road walking with these two men, Cleopas and an unnamed friend. They go seven miles of walking without realizing that it is Jesus they have been talking to the whole time. They break bread together. Then their eyes are opened to who it is they are had been entertaining that afternoon. And just like that... He is gone. Immediately they head back to Jerusalem to let the other disciples know. One last "run" at Luke 24 and one more moment where Jesus appears to the disciples. Presence - Power - Promise Presence "Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. I can feel his mighty power and his grace. I can hear the brush ...

  "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  An "expert in the law", maybe a lawyer, maybe a scribe or religious leader, it's not clear exactly who the man is and its not truly pertinent. It says here that he is trying to "trap" Jesus in an open ended question. Give the wrong answer and we could debate until the back and forth ends up with the man succeeding in trumping the Son of God. Little does he know his answer would lead to his own embarrassment. Jesus leads the redirection of the question to help this "expert" know what really matters.  After asking him to answer his own question, the Messiah turns thing around by asking a question of his own. The legal expert wants to know what it takes to earn eternal life. Jesus asks the man to share what he knows. He recites the ancient Shema, a prayer that many Jewish people have learned since a young age.  For many, an extra line of text is added. "And a second is like it, to love your neigh...

  A young man named Isaiah stands outside the Temple mount waiting to enter and worship the Lord God Almighty, The Holy One of Israel. This young man is given to visions and dreams that speak truth and share insight about God's Kingdom. He isn't the greatest of prophets throughout his country. The vision he is about to have might be one of the most prolific and life changing, not just for him but for all who will read about it later. The book ascribed to him isn't even the longest in the recorded biblical canon. Jeremiah's book is still longer word for word. Something about Joel's words, spoken more than 100 years earlier, while having to do with future events in Israel's history seem to point to what this young man is going to be given to through his life. "Your old men will dream dreams, your young men will have visions". What Isaiah is about to walk into this day at the Temple will be referenced and talked about for centuries to come.  A young man h...

  This winter weather messed with a few Sundays for us (and we might not be over with that yet. It is Ohio.) We enter Lent with one less Sunday since we finished up the letter of James. What could we possibly do with the five weeks we have as we head toward Easter? With the subject matter from James' letter still fresh on our hearts, there are some passages from the Gospel of Luke that seem to speak well with those themes and words.   A bit of our time in James left us wondering if the little brother of Jesus might have been present at any of the discourse and events we see unfolding in the Gospels. With the Messiah's mother, Mary, being accounted for in much of the background we read it is not far fetched at all to think that James would have been around also. What items did he hear about second hand? How did any of that play into what he chose to write about? While there is no clear and definite way to interpret any of that it does leave one to ponder and do some holy w...