Sometimes it's important to work out of faith, just between God and ourselves, as Jesus did in the reading for today. But our faith doesn't do much when it's just between God and us. Faith thrives in community. We see the depth and power of our faith when we're serving others.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Epiphany 5b – 4-February-24”
Jesus can be quite amazing, but he can also be quite challenging. For instance, people were amazed at the authority with which he spoke, but his ideas of power and authority challenge our coercive understanding of power at its core.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Epiphany 4b – 28-January-24”
When Jesus said, "The Realm of God is near," he meant that people would see God's ways in the things that he did and in what he taught. People would be able to know God by what Jesus did and learn how to truly serve God by what Jesus taught.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation (Gospel) for Epiphany 3b – 21-January-24”
The gospel story for today is one of the stories about Jesus gathering his disciples. As the organization grew from one itinerant preacher to 12 and the 70 and then thousands, the needs for the Church also grew.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Epiphany 2b – 14-January-24”
As we remember both Jesus' baptism and our own today, we consider what it means to dedicate our lives to serving God and others in the way of Jesus. One of the things it means is supporting this congregation through our abilities, our time, and our financial resources.… Read the rest “Alternate Offering Meditation for Baptism of Christ B – 7-January-24”
The gifts that the wisemen brought may seem exotic to us, gold, incense, oil, but they were actually quite practical for a family on the move in those days. All of them could be exchanged for money in any marketplace they visited, and the money could go for food, shelter, and other necessities.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Epiphany B – 7-January-24”
When Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple to dedicate him, they were doing their part to see that the work of God in the world was done. When Simeon and Anna praised God for seeing Jesus and then told people what they knew, they were doing their part to see the work of God in the world was done.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Christmas 1b – 31-December-23”
Our great example, the one whom we follow and try to be like, is Jesus, because Jesus shows us the face of God in a human being. Jesus gave of himself that we would know the love of God for all people.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Christmas B – 25-December-23”
In the gospel reading for today, Mary is an active participant if what God had in mind. She knows she has a choice, and she chooses to birth and raise the child who would be called the son of God.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Advent 4b 24-December-23”
The people who went out to see John the Baptist were looking for Elijah, returned from the dead to bring the Good News that God was sending God's redeemer into the world. John knew he wasn't Elijah, but he stepped up and shared the Good News with them.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation (Gospel) for Advent 3b – 17-December-23”