Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 23:33-43   The Sign Calvary, Burnt Hills, NY   The sign is a joke.   Not a funny joke; not a joke that brings joy or happiness to the world.   It is, instead, one of those “clever” jokes, like a cartoon in the New Yorker. Maybe it doesn’t make you laugh out loud, but if you get it, if you can untangle the irony, you smile a little and feel smart.   The sign was that kind of joke.   And the joke, this joke, it is on us.   Because we clearly don’t get it, don’t get the clever irony.   We take the sign, nailed as it was just above the head of Jesus, literally.   As if that sign was an informative museum plaque.   And that is a strange stance to take, given the circumstance, in light of the terrible events of this Gospel story.       Most everyone in the story was in on the joke.   The leaders riffed on it, for the entertainment of the crowd, stand-up in ...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson John 18:33-37   You? Christ Church, Deposit   The king was exactly where you would expect to find him.   He was standing in the halls of power, in a palace, talking with the local governor – the conversation taking place on the way to his dressing room.   Soon, at the conclusion of the brief, but grave, dialogue, the kind powerful people have, the king would don the royal garments: a purple robe and a crown for his head.   And then, stand, as kings do, before the gathered crowds.   That is both exactly what happens in this Gospel and yet not what happens at all.   Because in this case, the king in our story is a condemned peasant.   Pilate, the local governor, was a busy man.   And now he is also an annoyed man.   It was bad enough that he was assigned to govern a population that refused to worship the Emperor.   Now there was a contingent at his gate asking him to personal...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 25:31-46   Throne   It is a funny place for a throne.   There, surrounded by the bustle of a bleating flock, sits the King.   Sheep and goats milling around in his royal presence.   The mess before him is considerable.   The odor: even more considerable.       Typically, a throne is situated in a palace – surrounded by marble floors, arched entryways, dazzling fixtures.   The odors wafting through that place far surpass, in delight, the scent of the sheepfold.   Cinnamon and citrus, perhaps frankincense and myrrh.   And servants, so that the king need never dirty his precious hands.       Israel did have a celebrated tradition of shepherd kings.   But though the image loomed large in the hearts of the people, mostly it was just about David.   He was the one called from the fields, anointed in his work clothes, the holy oils streakin...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 23:33-43   The Jesus with us   This morning, before getting into the shower, I checked my phone.   A number of my friends, my Colorado Springs friends, had marked themselves safe on facebook.   And that is how I found out about the shooting at Club Q last night.   Another mass shooting in a state with a devastating history.   Another mass shooting in our city.   Another terrible act of violence against the LGBTQ+ community.   It is this tragedy that greeted us on Christ the King Sunday.   And here this morning, the Gospel is Jesus on the cross.   And on a day like today it is easy to understand the emotions of the crowd.   They want Jesus to get down from that cross.   To do something.   To make the bad untrue.   To stop the violence.   And yet our king hangs, and dies, on a cross.     And everyone is confused and frustrated.   Because this...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Revelation 1:4b-8   Christ the King Sunday   It is not lost on me that this letter, what we call the book of Revelation, was written by a lonely prisoner, about a God who seemed to be losing, and a King whose obituary had been published about seven decades earlier.   And so we could dismiss this whole thing as wishful thinking or even the delusions of an underfed exile.   And that is fair because John, the writer of these visions, imagines all kinds of unrealistic things: like tears wiped dried and no more death and a broken world made into heaven on earth.   Or we can choose to believe in the unbelievable.   And remember that it is the work of God to plant dreams in the very places hope goes to die, like an island prison in the middle of the Aegean Sea.     I am not sure how this strange series of apocalyptic visions escaped the island and found its audience on the shore, but the ecstatic dre...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 25:31-46 Sheep, Goats, or Something Else? Today’s Buzzfeed quiz is brought to you by the Gospel of Matthew: “BAA or MAA!?: Are you a super sheep or a ghastly goat?” Answer just six simple questions to find out! It is quite a quiz too. It has that essential element that really makes an on-line quiz pop: the element of surprise. Everyone seems very surprised by their results. And to keep it interesting, the stakes are shockingly high – not like “what will my facebook friends think of my results?” high. But still pretty high, like eternal punishment or eternal life. Today is Christ the King Sunday and the final Sunday of the Church year. And a month of very challenging Kingdom of God parables from Matthew’s Gospel has led us to this dramatic climax: the apocalyptic tale of the sheep and the goats – the final story Jesus tells the people before his arrest and crucifixion. This is the last song in the set list. In some ...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 23:33-43 The King Who Lost the Vote Jesus stood before the voting public one time . Just once. Like a King awaiting his royal throne, he stood before them, wearing an elegant robe and a custom-made crown. The winner would win freedom. But the crowd chose someone else; they voted for the other guy – and it wasn't close. But then, they also cast their vote for him. In one united voice the rallying masses chanted, “Crucify! Crucify him!” Jesus had healed their sick; he had fed their hungry; he had raised their dead. But standing before them now, he did not look like a king. His robe mocked him; his crown drained him. It was obvious to them. They needed a strong king; someone who would fight. And he was weak. He gave nice speeches. And he dreamed of impossible kingdoms. But they needed someone who would take real action; not someone who snuck away to quiet prayer gardens. And so they voted Barabbas. He would actu...