Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 10:25-37   Rule of Three I suspect you have heard of the old “rule of three.”   In storytelling, for example, it is often suggested that a listener finds triads more effective, more humorous, more satisfying.   And so there is a plethora, a profusion, an abundance, if you will, of stories in which we find three characters or three events or three items featured prominently.   Not only do listeners find the threes more satisfying, this predictable structure also makes it easier to remember the details of the story.   In the story of the Three Little Pigs, there are three little houses: one of straw, one of sticks, and one of bricks.   In the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the porridge is too hot, too cold, and just right; the beds too hard, too soft, and, of course, just right.   Going back much further, in the Bible, in the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego end up in the fiery...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Romans 13:8-14 Love Your Neighbor Tomorrow will be the sixteenth anniversary of Welles Crowther's death. He was twenty-four years old the day he died; this year he would have celebrated his fortieth birthday. But instead he made a decision, a decision that froze him in time. Crowther worked in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He was an equities trader, a graduate of Boston College. Even folks who did not know his name, recognized him as the guy who always carried a red bandanna in his back pocket. He always carried it – ever since the day his dad gave it to him, when he was just six years old. After United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower, Welles called his mom – just to let her know that he was OK. And then from the 78 th floor, he started his dissent – but not alone. In the midst of the smoke and chaos, with his red bandanna tied around his face, trying to protect his nose and mo...