Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Ephesians 2:1-10   Love and Baptism Holy Name, Boytonville   At that point in my life, it is unlikely I would have been described as a notorious sinner – though, admittedly, I was prone to the passions of my flesh.   As I approached the baptismal font, those passions of the flesh were about all I had: a passion for sleep, for nourishment, and the selfish desire to have other people meet my every want and need.   I was one month old when I was baptized.     Like many of us, I am a product of infant baptism.   My grandfather, a United Methodist pastor, baptized me in a font not far from the Ohio River, in a village almost exactly the size of this one.   He had no sense, as he poured sacred waters over my head, how my life would go.   He did not know that I would spend my teenage years leading worship in Pentecostal churches; or that I would discover the Book of Common Prayer while attending a ...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Ephesians 5:15-20   Wisdom   Tomorrow at 8am the sound of a bell will mark the beginning of a new school year at Audubon Elementary.   As a parent I have honestly never felt so unsure, and so sick to my stomach, about the first day of school.   My children, with their erasable pens and composition notebooks and strongly encouraged facemasks, will attempt to concentrate amidst a pandemic that seems to ever find new waves of rage.   Like many parents with whom I have spoken in recent days, I have no idea if we are doing the right thing or the best thing for our boys.   We’re trying, of course; our intentions are good; our reasons are reasonable; also our doubts significant.   But if wisdom is calling to me in this moment, I’ll admit, her voice is difficult to discern in the sloshing sea of articles, advice, and opinion.     I wish it was simpler than this.   But nothing feels simple these days in:...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Ephesians 4:1-16   Unity with a Higher Purpose   In an age of tremendous division and rancor, one might be tempted to revisit the merits of the work accomplished on the plains of Shinar.   Historically, the organizers of said work have been criticized for their efforts.   But, I wonder, in light of our own partisan conflicts and ideological turmoil, if those ancient efforts should not be at least conditionally lauded.   Perhaps you remember the story; it is found in the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible.   In it, all of the world’s people gather on the plains of Shinar and decide to build a city.   Together.   The plans, apparently developed by universal consensus, featured a tower of great significance.   The tower would stand at the center of their venture and their identity.   So impressive was their single-mindedness, that even the hosts of heaven, who had apparently been m...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Ephesians 1:3-14   Very, Very Much Christian, there is something I need you to know: God loves you very, very much.   I know you have heard that before – maybe so many times that it can sound trite.   But I need you to hear it today.   And I need you to really let it sink in; soak it up.   God loves you very, very much. I need you to hear it because I need you to believe it.   See, there will be times in this life, Christian, when that love is all you will have in the whole world.   Really hard times, sad times, lonely times.   Times when you will feel lost.   Days when you will feel like no one cares.   Days when it will seem like the world is against you.   I wish it was not so, but those days happen.   And so I need you to know that God loves you very, very much. See, before the foundations of the world, before God ordered the chaos, before your parents ever imagined the p...