Preaching the Scriptures

The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 14:22-33   Why Did You Doubt? St. Mary’s, Springfield Center   As he thrashed around in the tumultuous sea, the answer to Jesus’ query seemed rather obvious.   And the doubt in Peter’s mind justified.   And yet, it was in that chaotic moment in which Jesus posed his question.   Because, after all, who doesn’t enjoy a deep philosophical discussion when one is pre-occupied with drowning?   Jesus asked Peter the “why” question.   And I don’t know if that was advisable.   As a parent, I can tell you, experts work very hard to talk that question out of the parental vocabulary.   In books and blogs, they claim it causes shame or fear.   Sometimes a cognitive block.   Often defensiveness.   In the Gospel text, Peter’s response to Jesus’ “why” is not recorded – if there even was one.   It is difficult to talk when one is terrified and choking on water.   Still in th...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 28:1-10   But Not for God   She was helpless.   Utterly helpless.   It was the Friday of a week that had spun out of control, in the very worst possible way.   And there was nothing she could do to stop the spinning.   Mary Magdalene stood at a distance now, but the distance provided no perspective, no safety – just more pain.   From that distance, she was still close enough to see the ending of a story that was, apparently, a tragedy.   For a while, it had felt like a fairy tale.   But the cross at the end proved otherwise; it was a twist ending she did not see coming.     Because he was best of us, impossibly good, completely selfless, just made of love. It was like kindness flowed through his veins.   If anyone should get the happy ending, it was Jesus.   But he got the death penalty instead.   And now here she was, looking on from a distance as his bloo...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 20:27-38   Resurrection Certainty St. Christopher’s, Cobleskill   They could have come to Jesus to be touched well.   They could have sat at his feet and drank from the well of his wisdom.   They could have simply breathed in the same breath that, in the beginning, separated the water from the dry land.   Or just stood still in his loving gaze.   But instead, they came to embarrass Jesus in front of this crowd.   Because of course they did.   These Sadducees, we are told, did not believe in the resurrection.   And so this was not an earnest or honest question.   Their question was devised to prove to Jesus, and anyone who would listen, that they were right: more well-read, more devoted, more righteous.   And that Jesus was wrong.   Because of their carefully crafted question everyone would see that they knew the Bible better.   And unlike Jesus, they actually res...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 12:49-56   Healing Flames St. Eustice, Lake Placid   The dog defiantly held an empty raisin box in his mouth.   What we did not know was whether the dog discovered an empty raisin box, or whether the dog emptied the raisin box.   And the dog, being a dog, wasn’t talking.   But the answer to the question was important.   In fact, it carried life and death implications.     My wife quickly called the emergency line and was instructed to hastily head to the store for the medicine – in this case, hydrogen peroxide: to make the dog, the dog with the raisin box, vomit.   It was immediately and abundantly clear: this would not be the relaxing evening we had planned.   I am sure the dog, quite pleased with himself for finding that box, was puzzled by the concerned looks and panicked energy in the house.   Little did he know: his happy evening of box chewing and attention was a...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 8:26-39   The Man in the Cemetery Church of the Redeemer, Rensselaer   No one visited the cemetery anymore.   It was occupied by a man who was himself occupied.   And so everyone else in the country of the Gerasenes avoided the old tombs, the graves of their ancestors and friends, because they were afraid.   The man in the cemetery wasn’t always like this.   There was a time, before the occupation, that he was more, I guess you might say, normal.   When it first happened, his loved ones tried to help.   They wrapped him up in chains to try to subdue his chaos and frenzy.   But it never worked.   And so now, he was alone, with the dead.   Alone, except for his demons.   Unlike the humans, his demons refused to leave.   And they refused to let him leave, refused to return him to the people he once knew and loved.   The town was terrorized by the man’s wild...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson John 20:19-31   Wounds Trinity, Gouverneur   The disciples needed to see the wounds.   They knew the stone was displaced and the tomb was empty – but that didn’t prove anything.   Some of the disciples, men in that very locked room, had even seen the discarded linen wrappings, but they did not see any life.   They had heard, and rejected, Mary’s startling testimony; she, they decided, was obviously sick with grief.   They could not deny that fantastical rumors were buzzing, but rumors are not evidence.   Impossible tales, unlikely explanations, were pestering their weary heads and their tender hearts – making things worse.   Their pain was fresh; their fear was real; they were trying to survive without Jesus – trying to get used to this sad, new normal.   They would not get their hopes up because high hopes crash hard.   And so, they decided to play it safe: they simply would not believ...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 24:1-12   Followers Cathedral of All Saints   Unlike most preachers, Mary Magdalene was not worried about her Easter Sunday sermon.   Maybe she should have been, because, according to the Gospel, it was a flop.   But she wasn’t.   She had something else on her mind when she left the house early on Easter morning.   It had been a terrible weekend, the worst of her life.   And that is why she was dragging her listless body, her broken heart, and her satchel of spices down the barren road of a barren cemetery.   It was Easter Sunday and Mary wasn’t thinking about a sermon; she was thinking about death.   It was all she could think about.   Because what she saw on that Friday, she could never unsee.   That nightmare was burnt into her soul.   The immensity of the violence was overwhelming, of course, but the worst thing was that it was so personal.   Jesus was he...