Preaching the Scriptures

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 16:13-20   You are Rock My name is Jeremiah.   It is a good name; I like it.   It even shows up in today's gospel reading.   Jeremiah is, most famously, the name of an Old Testament prophet.   The name comes from the ancient Hebrew word for “YHWH has uplifted.”   It has a strong meaning and a good history.   Of course, the great biblical Jeremiah is not really who I was named after.   While the prophet legitimized the choice in my mother’s eyes, I was mostly named after the title character in the Robert Redford film, Jeremiah Johnson.   But still, it is a good name. I've always been proud of my name.   And I've always been protective of it.   I never let folks change it.   I was a pretty shy little kid.   I did not really speak up about much.   I have never been a confrontational person.   But whenever someone called little Jeremiah “Jeremy” or “Jerry”, I co...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 15:10-28   In the Heart How dare he talk to them like that?   They were better than him.   He was a nobody from nowhere.   Sure, Jesus had a handful of followers and some popularity but pretty much anybody with some charisma can brainwash a few na ï ve peasants.   He was a low-life.   His father was a hillbilly carpenter – if that guy was even his dad.   There were rumors that his mother was already knocked up when they got married – just another loose teenage girl with no morals.   It's no surprise he shows his elders no respect.   Just look at the kind of family he comes from.   And that group he calls his disciples.   What a joke.   They are a shabby group; they don't even observe basic purity laws.   It's gross; they don't wash their hands before they eat.   And their leader has the chutzpah to walk around like he is expert on Torah?   His disciples do...