Preaching the Scriptures

  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...

  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 aga...