Posts

Won't Let Go [Proper 23B - Mark 10:17-31]

-
  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Mark 10:17-31   Won’t Let Go Church of our Saviour, Lebanon Springs   This is not a test.   Last week, in the Gospel preceding today’s, a group of Pharisees did come to test Jesus; their question was nothing more than a trap, a linguistic exercise meant to ensnare their holy adversary.   But this is different: this man, this wealthy man in today’s Gospel, is sincere.   His humble posture and dirty garments are proof of his sincerity.   He kneels before Jesus on the dusty, grimy road and asks a question of ultimate importance.   “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”   The man’s question was personal – not theoretical, not academic.   He did not ask Jesus, “What must one do?” or “What must they do?”   His question was an “I” statement.   The man was concerned about the state of his own soul.   And about the acquisition of another inheritance – one more permanent than the treasures of this earth.   It is interesting to me that h
Post a Comment
Read more

Legal Separation [Proper 22B - Mark 10:2-16]

-
  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Mark 10:2-16   Legal Separation St. Andrew’s, Scotia   Then why even ask?   The Pharisees who approached Jesus, the ones who asked this question, this question about what is, and always has been, an emotionally fraught topic, they already knew the answer, their answer.   They could even cite chapter and verse.   Deuteronomy, the book of Moses, is fairly clear: “Suppose a man enters into marriage with a woman, but she does not please him because he finds something objectionable about her, and so he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house.”   Write a certificate and move on.   That was the answer.   So, why even ask?   I’m not sure what these inquisitors were hoping Jesus would say, but Mark’s Gospel tells us that the question was not an honest inquiry.   It was a test – Holy Scripture as a trap.   And not the first time folks came at Jesus with a test.   And not the last time.   At this p
Post a Comment
Location: Scotia, NY 12302, USA
Read more

Speaking of Tongues [Proper 19B - James 3:1-12]

-
  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson James 3:1-12   Speaking of Tongues St. Augustine’s, Ilion, NY   One smoked cigarette, thoughtlessly and carelessly tossed aside, can burn an entire city to the ground.   A blown tire, metal beads dragging the dark asphalt, can send a tiny spark careening into the dry road-side brush and set a mountain range on fire.   A bolt of lightning, a fire cracker, a smoldering camp fire: how great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!   This is what I learned living in Colorado Springs.   Every summer in the Rockies smells like smoke.   As the snows melt, the fires light up the western half of our nation.   Most are contained before they consume civilization, but not all.   And so, residents of the west, must be ready to flee the flames.   Our home in Colorado was close to a large city park called Palmer Park.   While not as famous as the Garden of the Gods, Palmer Park, at 730 acres, is the largest park in the metro area.   And it hasn’t
Post a Comment
Location: Ilion, NY 13357, USA
Read more

It matters [Proper 17B - Psalm 15]

-
  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Psalm 15   It matters Christ Church, Hudson   It all matters.   What you say and what you do and who you are: it all matters.   Your thoughts and your intentions: it all matters.   If today’s lessons make anything clear it is that: it all matters.   These scriptures don’t leave us much wiggle room; they take things seriously.   It matters to Moses in Deuteronomy.   It definitely matters in today’s psalm.   It matters when James explains what we must understand to be pure and undefiled.   It matters when Jesus reveals the contents of the human heart.   And it matters because there is water in the font and a baptismal covenant on today’s menu.   And I think, maybe, that feels like a lot of pressure, like today’s scripture passages are conspiring with the Baptismal Covenant to overwhelm us and weigh us down, to set an impossibly high standard.   If you listened closely today you heard quite a bit of instruction, a lot of guidance, one mig
1 comment
Location: Hudson, NY 12534, USA
Read more

Never Easy [Proper 16B - John 6:56-69]

-
  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson John 6:56-69   Never Easy   It could have been easy.   The masses were ready to fall in love with Jesus; they wanted to fall in love with him, the man with the limitless supply of bread.   They do say that the way to a person’s heart is through the stomach.   Jesus was a walking buffet.   He fed; they ate.   He fed; they were satisfied.   He fed and they followed.     They were hooked from the first bite.   And for a moment, Jesus was everything.   He was powerful.   And he was popular.   They liked him.   Or at least they liked things about him, the way he pampered them, the way he took care of them.   They liked the food mostly, if we are being honest.   But still it was enough.     Entrepreneurs spend a lifetime desperately hoping to stumble onto a successful business model.   They workshop and focus group.   They scrap and tweak.   They brainstorm and throw all kinds of ideas against the wall.   Jesus just nailed it without even
Post a Comment
Location: Paul Smiths, NY 12970, USA
Read more

Succession Planning [Proper 15B - I Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14]

-
  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson I Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14   Succession Planning All Angels, Twilight Park   People still talk about his dad.   Star of David, City of David, Son of David.   The King David Hotel, and its five-star rating: it stands today in the center of the city the great ruler put on the map some 2900 years ago.   Tourists flock to see Michelangelo’s brilliant sculpture of his father’s nude form in Florence, Italy.   David looms large, still…and then…and always.   Solomon, his son, had a hard act to follow.   David overshadowed every king who ever sat on the throne, his throne, the one called, of course, the throne of David – called that no matter who was sitting on it at the time.   David’s predecessor, Saul, crumbled in his presence, became an historical footnote.   And every king who followed him, until the Babylonians paused his line in 587 BCE, were chilled by his long shadow, were measured against the memory of David’s success, his charisma, his
Post a Comment
Location: Twilight Park, Haines Falls, NY 12436, USA
Read more