Preaching the Scriptures

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Song of Songs 2:8-13 Desire It was the desperate longing in his hushed voice that she desired to hear.   It was the way in which his body held her gaze as he bounded over the hills, driven, she knew, by a burning desire to be close…a longing for her embrace, for her touch.   It was that moment their eyes met through the lattice; it was just a look but she felt it in her body and soul, if that makes sense.   It was as if that look were more like a thing, or maybe even a seismic event.   She dreamt of that moment and in her dreams her desire was more powerful than any distance that threatened to keep them apart.   She burned with desire: the ache of longing, the thrill of hope. You don’t plan for this, but it is there, tied up in what means to be human.   It is hidden somewhere inside – like heart or stomach.   But more like a flame – a thing that burns from the inside out.   It feels both dangerous and e...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson John 4:5-42 Desire This is a story about desire.   It's about those things that desire drives us to do – transgress boundaries, take chances.   The story begins with a basic human need – thirst: the desire for water.   Jesus was thirsty.   And this woman has a bucket.   And a well.   And the well is deep and full of water.   Disregarding her ethnicity and gender, or perhaps disregarding his own ethnicity and gender, Jesus asks for a drink.   And in that moment, the woman – unnamed in this story – is very much aware of her ethnicity and gender, or perhaps is very much aware of his ethnicity and gender.   None of this was supposed to happen.   A Jew wanders into Samaritan territory – into Sychar.   A Jew wanders into Palestinian territory – into the West Bank.    A man walks into the “ wrong ” neighborhood and drinks from the wrong water fountain.   Someone is s...