Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Mark 13:1-8   When? St. Stephen’s, Schuylerville   Sometimes you just don’t know what to say to Jesus.   Have you ever had that experience?    Well, so did at least one of Jesus’ disciples.   And so he just blurted out, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!”   And probably the stones were large.   And certainly the Second Temple appeared quite large, especially to a citizen of the 1 st century, in the days before skyscrapers and NYC and the UAE.   But Jesus meets that awkward outburst with something much more serious.   And then, it seems, no one talks again until they get to the Mount of Olives.   But in the silence, the disciples’ minds were racing.   They were wondering.   Because once again, they could not make sense of Jesus.   Neither could they make sense of a world that can’t seem to help but fall apart.   The disciples: they a...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Mark 10:46-52   Mercy   Before sight, instead of money, his first request was for mercy.   Bartimaeus, the man we encounter in Mark’s Gospel today, was a blind beggar – two conditions that were, of course, in no way mutually exclusive.   He sat by the road in extraordinary need; that was obvious to everyone, and still is.   He was blind.   And so he was poor.   And, he was, based on the initial reaction of the crowd around him, something of a pariah or nuisance.   His temporal needs were vast.   But his first request, his primary plea, was for mercy.   On this particular day, the day recorded in our Gospel reading, Jesus was in Jericho.   And for the people of Jericho that was a really big deal.   It wasn’t every day that a miracle worker passed through town.   And so the buzz built and the crowds assembled.   They came to see Jesus.   And see Jesus they d...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Mark 10:17-31   Won’t Let Go Church of our Saviour, Lebanon Springs   This is not a test.   Last week, in the Gospel preceding today’s, a group of Pharisees did come to test Jesus; their question was nothing more than a trap, a linguistic exercise meant to ensnare their holy adversary.   But this is different: this man, this wealthy man in today’s Gospel, is sincere.   His humble posture and dirty garments are proof of his sincerity.   He kneels before Jesus on the dusty, grimy road and asks a question of ultimate importance.   “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”   The man’s question was personal – not theoretical, not academic.   He did not ask Jesus, “What must one do?” or “What must they do?”   His question was an “I” statement.   The man was concerned about the state of his own soul.   And about the acquisition of another inheritance – one more permanent th...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Mark 10:2-16   Legal Separation St. Andrew’s, Scotia   Then why even ask?   The Pharisees who approached Jesus, the ones who asked this question, this question about what is, and always has been, an emotionally fraught topic, they already knew the answer, their answer.   They could even cite chapter and verse.   Deuteronomy, the book of Moses, is fairly clear: “Suppose a man enters into marriage with a woman, but she does not please him because he finds something objectionable about her, and so he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house.”   Write a certificate and move on.   That was the answer.   So, why even ask?   I’m not sure what these inquisitors were hoping Jesus would say, but Mark’s Gospel tells us that the question was not an honest inquiry.   It was a test – Holy Scripture as a trap.   And not the first time folks came...

The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Mark 6:14-29   A Sonnet and a Sermon on the Death of John the Baptist All Souls' Memorial Chapel, Keene Valley   It seems so terribly out of place here In the midst of this story of Jesus The grizzly end of the Baptist’s career Inserted as a sick anamnesis   A memory of casual violence A bloody tale of invasive trauma The price John paid for fervent piousness Was at this king’s party merely drama   “This John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” The sick royal act still haunted the king The prophet returned when he was amazed Until the guilt became his everything   A head on a platter would represent The lengths one will go to not repent   This story is, I think, supposed to clash, supposed to abruptly disrupt the narrative.   As it stands in stark contrast to the harp interlude that preceded its reading this morning, so does it stand in stark contrast to the surrounding peri...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Mark 6:1-13   An Underdog Story Zion, Hudson Falls   Rooting for the underdog was built into their DNA.   They were, after all, the children of Jacob: named for that younger son who had outwitted and outpaced the older.   They were the children of Joseph: the slave who would rule an empire.   They were the children of Moses: a man of slow speech who would reluctantly, but ultimately, speak the word of God.     Their history was told by the unexpected.   Their faith carried forward by the marginalized.   The barren birthed this people.   And so, they loved an underdog story.   They celebrated that Esther challenged kings.   And Gideon triumphed severely outnumbered.   And Samuel was called to prophetic ministry as a lowly child.   And they, perhaps best of all, loved David. David was their greatest king.   And he was and is and ever shall be the archetype o...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Mark 4:26-34   Planting seeds All Saints’, Hoosick   In 2020, during the height of the early pandemic, I decided to plant a garden.   Not very original, I know, but my wife has a gluten allergy and so bread-baking was pretty much off the table, and I am too cheap to buy a Peloton bike.   And so, I tended to a garden.   My first year was fairly successful.   I grew more spinach than we could possibly eat; the basil was fresh and delicious; my oldest son devoured the cherry tomatoes.   It was not a large garden; it did not solely sustain us through the ravages of the first year of the pandemic (I still had to buy and sanitize groceries), but I found the routine of my garden rewarding and the fruits of my labors fulfilling.     And then year two arrived.   I planted that second garden as life was reemerging.   The vaccine was available.   Masks were the norm; groceries no...