Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Joel 2:1-2, 12-17   Broken Hearts   The first words of the book of the prophet Joel feel eerily appropriate this year, as if the ghosts of our ancient past understand our pandemic present: “Hear this, O elders,” he shouts across the centuries, “give ear, all inhabitants of the land!   Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your ancestors? Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.”   His people were dying of pestilence; ours die of plague.   Our lives changed in Lent last year.   And here we are again.   Walking this austere season in what we hope are the waning days of a time of imposed austerity.   Lent beckons us to renewed spiritual discipline, even as we are wearied by a year of sacrifice.   Lent calls us to take up the cross, even though our spirits are buckling under the weight of a year of heavy lifting...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Jonah 3:10-4:11 What we like (and dislike) about God   I’m a priest; my wife is a pastor; my children are PKs twice over; and so we have, in our home, a number of Children’s Bibles.   And all of them include the story of Jonah.   Well, excerpts from the story of Jonah; definitely not the whole story.   Most of them begin with Jonah running in the opposite direction; they always include the big fish, from belly to beach; and they typically conclude with the happy ending of the book: when the people of Ninevah repent and are saved – because of Jonah. They never include this part of the story: the part where Jonah is mad because God refuses to kill all the people.   The true ending of Jonah, what we heard this morning, never makes the cut.   This is, admittedly, not Jonah’s finest moment; he does not make a great impression in today’s passage – which is the conclusion of the book that bears his name. Finally, the...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Acts 2:42-47 An Easter Lament These days, people keep asking me how I am doing.   They ask me, “Are you OK?”   And some of the time, maybe even most of the time, I am; I am OK.   But also sometimes, I’m not.   OK seems to come and go; it just does.   Sometimes I’m not OK; sometimes I’m tired – tired of being told to be creative and adaptive, tired of looking on the bright side, tired of checking facebook and logging into zoom meetings, tired of the inside of my house.   Sometimes I’m frustrated – frustrated that another motorcycle ruined another take because I am recording videos of worship in my yard, frustrated because I can’t ever seem to sort out the audio issues, frustrated because I’m not as good at this digital version of church.   Sometimes I’m sad – because there are things that I miss, because there are things I’ve loved that might never be the same, sad because the world feels heavy right now. And...