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Jeremiah 23:1-6
Have you ever seen the wrath of a mother descend upon a careless babysitter? When mom comes home and finds Jenny the neighbor girl talking on the phone while the children are outside playing with a lighter, mom gets understandably upset. She is not entrusting Jenny with care of the telephone -- she has entrusted Jenny with the care of the children. She expects Jenny to put the children first. But Jenny's boyfriend called her, or maybe her cousin wanted to plan a trip to the mall, or maybe her friend called with all the latest gossip. Jenny got distracted by the lure of worldly things and wasn't paying attention when little Charlie grabbed the lighter from the desk drawer… Needless to say, Jenny probably won't be coming back to babysit for these children. Mom will find someone who can be a better steward of those things that are entrusted to her.
Leah T.
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Elizabeth Edwards took the time to share her outlook on life in an interview with Matt Lauer on The Today Show. Edwards is divorcing her husband John of thirty years. One marital problem, among many, is that John has a mistress, Rielle Hunter, with whom he fathered a child, a baby girl named Quinn.
In the interview Elizabeth said she admired Sandra Bullock, who, even going through a divorce with Jesse James, could continue with her life. Elizabeth said, "She won the Academy Award for an incredible performance, and more than that, she took that story and integrated that into her own life in this healthy happy way." Sadly, Elizabeth noted, the news media did not focus on the success but only the failed marriage. Looking to Sandra as an example, Elizabeth said, "That's not who she is… I assume she wants to reclaim who she is in the same way I want to reclaim who I am."
Our lectionary reading is about reclaiming that which has been lost. The shepherds have deserted their flock, that is, the leaders have forsaken the people of Judah. But God tells Jeremiah that he will place new shepherds over the people and once again the land shall be restored. We can see this in the restored people of Judah and in the lives of Sandra Bullock and Elizabeth Edwards. Our lives can be reclaimed from awful tragedy. We can own our lives in a "healthy happy way."
Ron L.
Colossians 1:11-20
I sometimes think it is hard for us as Americans to really get our minds around the idea of Christ as "king." In the American Revolution, the American colonists fought a bloody battle to rid themselves of a distant, impersonal king. Now we have a Congress and a President, a type of "first among equals," as it were.
While Jesus was one of us in the very real, human sense, he is far more than a "first among equals." He was also fully God, the second person of the Trinity, and is now the true king. He does not depend on popularity or opinion polls. He does not have to run for election. He is king, whether we like it or not. His is the throne. "And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead that in everything he might be preeminent" (vv. 17-18).
Craig K.
Colossians 1:11-20
Sara remembers her parents insisting that she and her sister attend Sunday school and church each week. To be honest Sara was less than enthused. "I always would complain and say that church was boring and not worth my time," she remembers telling her parents. "I would go to church and mostly follow the rules," Sara explains, "but only listen to what I wanted hear."
When she was in middle school it became harder for be a Christian. "Sermons and Sunday school teachers were knocking on my brain" she says of that time. By the time she was in high school she admits that she could not hide any longer. "I saw the path I was taking and had to make a choice of which way to live."
She attended a weekend retreat with the other teenagers from her church. The first night she entered the small chapel and something transforming happened to her. The songs were speaking to her, the message tugged at her heart. She went back to her room the next day when no one was around and she says, "I cried out to Jesus. I poured my heart and lift my life on the table for God to take."
"That day in August I gave my life to Jesus Christ." This is amazing insight from a young woman.
On Christ the King Sunday we reflect on our relationship with Jesus Christ. People through the ages have wrestled with who Jesus is. In today's lesson we find these descriptive words, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers -- all things have been created through him and for him."
Tim S.
Luke 23:33-43
Mark Twain understood the beauty of a benevolent attitude when he said, "Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it." If we are willing to be conciliatory, then we can bring a new and fresh fragrance into the lives of others.
"Father, forgive them," Jesus uttered from the cross. To those who stood at the foot of the cross the thief was a scoundrel. Jesus was aware of the thief's past behavior, but more than that, Jesus was willing to accept the thief's change of heart. "Forgive them" are words that should be pronounced by all of us who know the mercy of our Savior. Having received absolution by the Lamb of God, it must be our desire to absolve the transgressions of others.
Ron L.
Luke 23:33-43
One simple comma is the difference between heaven and purgatory, and it makes that decision in today's gospel reading. Luke 23:43: "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." If you put the comma before "today," Jesus is saying that the thief will join him in paradise this very day. If you put the comma after "today," Jesus is saying that the thief will join him in paradise, but it doesn't necessarily say when. The ambiguity of this sentence is appropriate for the Easter story. We are just as hazy on what to expect in the afterlife as Jesus' contemporaries were. It seems absurd that one small comma could make that much difference in meaning -- but it also seems absurd that Jesus is promising to take thieves with him to paradise.
Leah T.
Have you ever seen the wrath of a mother descend upon a careless babysitter? When mom comes home and finds Jenny the neighbor girl talking on the phone while the children are outside playing with a lighter, mom gets understandably upset. She is not entrusting Jenny with care of the telephone -- she has entrusted Jenny with the care of the children. She expects Jenny to put the children first. But Jenny's boyfriend called her, or maybe her cousin wanted to plan a trip to the mall, or maybe her friend called with all the latest gossip. Jenny got distracted by the lure of worldly things and wasn't paying attention when little Charlie grabbed the lighter from the desk drawer… Needless to say, Jenny probably won't be coming back to babysit for these children. Mom will find someone who can be a better steward of those things that are entrusted to her.
Leah T.
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Elizabeth Edwards took the time to share her outlook on life in an interview with Matt Lauer on The Today Show. Edwards is divorcing her husband John of thirty years. One marital problem, among many, is that John has a mistress, Rielle Hunter, with whom he fathered a child, a baby girl named Quinn.
In the interview Elizabeth said she admired Sandra Bullock, who, even going through a divorce with Jesse James, could continue with her life. Elizabeth said, "She won the Academy Award for an incredible performance, and more than that, she took that story and integrated that into her own life in this healthy happy way." Sadly, Elizabeth noted, the news media did not focus on the success but only the failed marriage. Looking to Sandra as an example, Elizabeth said, "That's not who she is… I assume she wants to reclaim who she is in the same way I want to reclaim who I am."
Our lectionary reading is about reclaiming that which has been lost. The shepherds have deserted their flock, that is, the leaders have forsaken the people of Judah. But God tells Jeremiah that he will place new shepherds over the people and once again the land shall be restored. We can see this in the restored people of Judah and in the lives of Sandra Bullock and Elizabeth Edwards. Our lives can be reclaimed from awful tragedy. We can own our lives in a "healthy happy way."
Ron L.
Colossians 1:11-20
I sometimes think it is hard for us as Americans to really get our minds around the idea of Christ as "king." In the American Revolution, the American colonists fought a bloody battle to rid themselves of a distant, impersonal king. Now we have a Congress and a President, a type of "first among equals," as it were.
While Jesus was one of us in the very real, human sense, he is far more than a "first among equals." He was also fully God, the second person of the Trinity, and is now the true king. He does not depend on popularity or opinion polls. He does not have to run for election. He is king, whether we like it or not. His is the throne. "And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead that in everything he might be preeminent" (vv. 17-18).
Craig K.
Colossians 1:11-20
Sara remembers her parents insisting that she and her sister attend Sunday school and church each week. To be honest Sara was less than enthused. "I always would complain and say that church was boring and not worth my time," she remembers telling her parents. "I would go to church and mostly follow the rules," Sara explains, "but only listen to what I wanted hear."
When she was in middle school it became harder for be a Christian. "Sermons and Sunday school teachers were knocking on my brain" she says of that time. By the time she was in high school she admits that she could not hide any longer. "I saw the path I was taking and had to make a choice of which way to live."
She attended a weekend retreat with the other teenagers from her church. The first night she entered the small chapel and something transforming happened to her. The songs were speaking to her, the message tugged at her heart. She went back to her room the next day when no one was around and she says, "I cried out to Jesus. I poured my heart and lift my life on the table for God to take."
"That day in August I gave my life to Jesus Christ." This is amazing insight from a young woman.
On Christ the King Sunday we reflect on our relationship with Jesus Christ. People through the ages have wrestled with who Jesus is. In today's lesson we find these descriptive words, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers -- all things have been created through him and for him."
Tim S.
Luke 23:33-43
Mark Twain understood the beauty of a benevolent attitude when he said, "Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it." If we are willing to be conciliatory, then we can bring a new and fresh fragrance into the lives of others.
"Father, forgive them," Jesus uttered from the cross. To those who stood at the foot of the cross the thief was a scoundrel. Jesus was aware of the thief's past behavior, but more than that, Jesus was willing to accept the thief's change of heart. "Forgive them" are words that should be pronounced by all of us who know the mercy of our Savior. Having received absolution by the Lamb of God, it must be our desire to absolve the transgressions of others.
Ron L.
Luke 23:33-43
One simple comma is the difference between heaven and purgatory, and it makes that decision in today's gospel reading. Luke 23:43: "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." If you put the comma before "today," Jesus is saying that the thief will join him in paradise this very day. If you put the comma after "today," Jesus is saying that the thief will join him in paradise, but it doesn't necessarily say when. The ambiguity of this sentence is appropriate for the Easter story. We are just as hazy on what to expect in the afterlife as Jesus' contemporaries were. It seems absurd that one small comma could make that much difference in meaning -- but it also seems absurd that Jesus is promising to take thieves with him to paradise.
Leah T.
