Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson 1 Kings 17:8-16   Desperate Strangers St. Timothy’s, Westford   The excitement was overwhelming…until it suddenly and decisively abated.   The hometown crowd had been buzzing about the return of their rising star.   Jesus was making a name for himself in the surrounding villages.   And now, he was coming home, to do his thing.     It started off strong.   Jesus was amazing.   They were impressed; it was impossible not to be impressed.   His beginnings were humble but you would never know that, the way he held the crowd, the way he exuded otherworldly wisdom.   They were hanging on his every word.   He was even better than they imagined.   Jesus should have quit while he was ahead – pulled a George Costanza and walked off on the high note.   But Jesus stood back up.   He played the encore.   After wowing the crowd, Jesus decided to add a little somet...

  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...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson 1 Kings 19:1-15a Done I think I know what is going on here: Elijah is trying to get fired.   He’s done.   He wants out and he wants out now.   I mean just look at the story we heard this morning from the first book of Kings.   Elijah runs away from the job site, falls asleep on the job, and then tells his boss that he would rather be dead than punch the clock one more time.   This prophet is practically daring God to hand him his walking papers. But it wasn’t always like this.   In fact, Elijah is coming directly off of his biggest professional triumph.   The chapter preceding today’s Old Testament lesson details his epic showdown with the prophets of Baal and with the royals of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.   You might remember that one: in an astounding display Elijah calls down fire from heaven to devour offering and altar after the whimpering prophets of the Canaanite deity Baal fail to conjure as...