Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16   Image of God St. John’s, Massena, NY   In the beginning, after chaos was ordered, after the light was divided from the darkness, after the planets were rounded into balls, after waves crashed, birds chirped, and cattle grazed, God reached into the ground to form one final creature.   On the sixth day, the day before the creation of rest, God formed a human.   And all the good was declared very good.   Before people, the earth was already teeming with life.   The water brought forth swarms of living creatures: some too small to see, some large enough to boggle the mind.   The skies were animated with winged birds: levitating hummingbirds, soaring eagles, and sparrows that cut through the air.   The soil vibrated with the movement of creeping things: worms burrowed and spiders webbed and grasshoppers hopped on grass.   And, of course, the wild beasts, the Bible love...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Hebrews 10:11-25 What Now? What now? That is the question the author of Hebrews poses today. What now? Through the work and sacrifice of Jesus, we are invited into the very presence of God.   Through the waters of baptism, our hearts are sprinkled clean; our bodies are washed with pure water.   By the mercy of God our sins are forgiven and forgotten.   By the love of God, we find shelter in the sacred heart of Jesus. We who were not a people are now a people. We who were once strangers are now family. We who are mere mortals are, through our participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus, through the waters of baptism, made members of the body of Christ and are held in the grip of God's immense love forever.   Amazing!   But what now? That is the question.   After all, we are washed entirely clean in those life-giving waters, we are locked into the family of God forever, God has formed wi...