Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 4:14-21   The Gospel of Mercy St. Luke’s, Cambridge   Definitely, they were not going to try to kill him.   They were excited for Jesus’ homecoming.   He was a good kid.   He came from a solid family.   They were glad he was going to be stomping his old stomping grounds again.   His parents probably busily readied his old room.   His friends made plans to catch up.   It would be just like that freshman year Thanksgiving break – the first time back after being away: late nights, great stories, mom’s cooking.   And so they definitely were not going to try to kill him.   And there was now a buzz surrounding him; that was fun.   People were praising him in the surrounding villages.   Jesus was becoming a big deal.   And a big deal Jesus was a big deal for their sleepy little village.   And so, again, they were excited and definitely not going to try to ...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson John 2:1-11   Filled to the Brim St. Paul’s, Kinderhook   The servants stumbled into an awkward moment.   They were just going about their business: making sure the appetizers were circulating, the drinks poured, the dirty dishes cleared and cleaned.   They were running in the background so that the wedding reception would go smoothly, so that the guests had a good time.     They didn’t mean to walk into this family situation, this disagreement between a mother and her son.   The mother and son were talking about what everyone was talking about.   The servants already knew the situation was bleak.   Servers always know when something runs out; they live on the front lines of that disappointment; they are the ones who have to break the news.   And the wine giving out was big, bad news.   Wine was, obviously, an important ingredient in the celebration.   Sure, it made pe...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Isaiah 43:1-7   Love Song St. Matthew’s, Latham   This is a love song for a devastated people.   Isaiah is writing to a nation in exile, a nation that was traumatized, violated, and displaced; a nation of broken hearts and shattered lives.   The people felt lost and they had lost hope.   But in their darkest hour, it is this prophetic word that finds them.   “Do not fear.”   But they were afraid – of the nightmares in their past, of the painful present, and of the uncertain future.   They were afraid.   But God wasn’t.   And so this is where God started: Do not fear.   God understood that they were scared; God always knows.   And so like a Creator speaking a new reality into being, God whispered peace to their trembling souls; God held on tightly to their shaky hands, until they steadied.   Because God knew that a word of comfort and blessed assurance was what they ne...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 2:1-12   Wonder St. Mark’s, Hoosick Falls   As a child, I knew this story through the song.   We Three Kings is the only hymn from the Epiphany section of Hymnal 1982 that even Pentecostals sing.   And while I could not have pinpointed the Orient on a map or defined a moor, the song made sense to me; I could sense that there was something true about it.   Because it captured the very heart of this story from Matthew’s Gospel.   At the heart of this story is wonder.   While these travelers are described as wise, I don’t think it was wisdom that disjoined them from the comforts of home.   In fact, traditional wisdom might discourage one from chasing an untethered star through the pitfalls of strange lands and unknown territories, all while carrying expensive, and very stealable, cargo.   I think they were enticed by wonder.   This story is riddled with mystery; and it is ...