Preaching the Scriptures

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson John 10:11-18 Hearing Voices Let’s talk about hearing voices.   Because at the most basic level, every passage about Jesus in the role of the Good Shepherd, is really about hearing voices.   Jesus himself says earlier in the same chapter from which today’s Gospel reading comes, “The sheep follow the shepherd because they know his voice.”   And that is why today, Good Shepherd Sunday, is about hearing voices. And, by the way, that is true: sheep do learn to recognize the voice of their shepherd.   They recognize that the voice belongs to the one who feeds them and protects them and meets their deepest needs.   They do not respond to the voices of strangers.   Instead they have remarkable ability to sort through the noise, to hone in on the one voice that matters.   They are perceptive enough to know the voice of the shepherd. And that seems like a nice metaphor to us, I think.   I think Christians really like being compared to sheep; I do

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 24:36b-48 Resurrection I think Easter season is great.   Don’t you think it’s great?   There is so much joy and excitement in the church.   There are alleluias all over the liturgy.   The lessons are interesting – so full of wonder and amazement.   The new Paschal Candle is burning every week; it looks so good back there by the font.   And at my house, when the kids aren’t paying attention, there is still some Easter candy up for grabs.   It’s just a great season.   It feels good living in Eastertide. I like everything about this season.   Well, I mean, there is one thing.   And I don’t want to seem like I am complaining; this is a great Church season.   But we are sort of forced to think about and talk about perhaps our strangest creedal doctrine an awful lot: resurrection.   Now don’t get me wrong.   I am big fan of the resurrection.   But it is just not the easiest theological subject to discuss with one’s friends.   And frankly,

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Mark 16:1-8 Don’t Take My Word for It It is April Fool’s Day and it seems the joke is on us.   Because this can’t be it.   You mean to tell me, this is the ending of Mark’s Gospel, this is the ending of our Easter Sunday Gospel: “and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid?”   That’s it?   This is the final word of the Good News on the Day of Resurrection and it is no word at all.   The women who were there, at the tomb, who found the stone rolled away and the grave empty, they did not want to talk about it.   They were the very first to witness the resurrection and they kept silent.   We are staking our eternal salvation on this event and the first people to know about it, decided not to say anything to anyone.   Jesus is alive!   Christ is Risen!   That is a pretty big deal.   But sure, let’s keep that on the down low. It is a little anti-climactic.   The Gospel tells us that terror and amazement seized them and so they said