Scripture: John 20:1-18 Our Confirmation class meets a moment of change alongside Mary Magdalene on Easter morning. Like Mary meeting Jesus by the tomb, they will be invited to look for the presence of the risen Christ with new eyes, and to remain open to the transformations of life, relationship, and calling that will lead … Read more
Scripture: Luke 19:28-40, Philippians 2:5-11 Palm Sunday invites us to see the two parades: Jesus’s triumphant entry and Pontius Pilate’s military show of force. Through the Holy Week story, it may look like one of those parades was the victor and the other lost everything… Yet Easter will come, and with it a reversal of … Read more
Scripture: John 12:1-8, Philippians 3:4b-14 In the Gospel of John, Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus with costly ointment, a ritual for death, and a gesture of love and care… one familiar to her, having recently buried her brother Lazarus. The two of them share this intimate scene as those touched by and close with death. … Read more
Scripture: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32We explore the parable of the prodigal son: a father’s unconditional love and two sons’ self-imposed limitations on that love. How can we break free from self-limiting stories and embrace God’s grace and forgiveness? In part, the cross may be a place and symbol to which Christ takes our old stories to … Read more
Scripture: Luke 13:1-9, Isaiah 55: 1-9 Jesus confronts that old tendency to blame victims of tragedy for their misfortune, and shows us that we are all equally vulnerable. On the cross, Jesus shows us the end of all this chain of scarcity, and calls to us repent from that “logic” of suffering to the wonder … Read more