Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Acts 6 & 7 First   Once upon a time, in the early days of social media, there developed a most peculiar practice.   This practice was quite common back when MySpace ruled the web and facebook was just beginning to venture beyond the boundaries of college campuses.   Now, in these later days of social media, the peculiar practice seems to have all but faded from existence, but for a time it was all the rage.   Perhaps you remember that long ago, in the days before dial-up, a common person would have very little, if any, direct contact with a celebrity, excepting of course the chance encounter at a Hollywood diner or perhaps a signed response to an earnest fan letter.   Anything beyond that though came through traditional media – television, magazines, the radio, town crier.   But social media changed that; celebrities could now share messages directly with their fans and fans could respond immediately to those messages.   And in that new wo

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 13:10-17   Set Free   This is not the first time Jesus teaches in a synagogue.   This is not the first time Jesus teaches himself into some hot water in a synagogue.   The first time he stood in the pulpit, back in his hometown of Nazareth, the gathered assembly, the audience of his sermon, tried to throw him off of a cliff.   That is admittedly a pretty extreme reaction…to a sermon.   More typically, offended listeners might just walk out in the middle of the sermon or send a strongly worded email the next day.   These folks tried to kill Jesus.   That is a rough debut.   But you know what they say, if at first you don’t succeed…   And so Jesus tries again; this second attempt is what is described in today’s Gospel passage.   This time, the second time around, does go better; this time Jesus is only heckled by the leader of the synagogue – presumably the very person who invited him to speak.   So, while not flawless, it is an improvement.  

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 12:49-56   Bringing peace   There are contradictions in the Bible.   I don’t say that to be controversial or scandalous.   I say that because it is true.   Ezra says that 200 singers accompanied the assembly; Nehemiah claims there were 245.   I Kings is more conservative on Solomon’s extraordinary love of baths than is the author of 2 Chronicles.   In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a single colt; in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus creatively, and flexibly, straddles two animals at once.   Jesus carries his own cross in John’s Gospel, a Gospel that actually has very little in common with the other three canonical Gospels; Simon of Cyrene helps out in Matthew’s telling.         None of these contradictions are all that significant.   They do not alter or compromise the central message of the canon.   Neither are the contradictions unexpected.   There are 66 books in the Bible, not to mention the additional books that you might find san