Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Acts 10:44-48           Afternoon Dreaming Church of the Holy Spirit, Schenevus   It all started with a dream.     Peter just couldn’t keep his eyes open; they were so heavy.   I don’t know about you, but I can relate.   Sometimes prayer makes us sleepy.   It’s just true.   Good intentions and dogged devotion are, at times, simply not enough.   And in the midst of a pious moment, we find ourselves drifting into a slumber.   It happens to the best of us – including St. Peter.     In his dream, Peter saw the heavens open – an exciting beginning, to be sure.   And then from that celestial rift descended…bedding – specifically a large sheet.   Jacob got angels climbing a ladder; Joseph: thin cows eating fat cows.   Peter gets a sheet.        It turns out the sheet, as you might remember from this sto...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 16:21-28   Victory   And finally, since we are on a roll with these, my last announcement is this: the 2023 NFL season begins on Thursday.   And that means, once again, I will root for the Cleveland Browns to appear in their first ever Super Bowl.   Once again I will tell myself, as I have so many times before: this could be the year.   I have cheered on the Browns for as long as I can remember; the Browns are like a family inheritance: you don’t choose them as much as you get them.   And, over the years, that has, admittedly, left some scars.   As a little boy, I cried because of “The Drive.”   And then the next year, when I was seven, I cried because of “The Fumble.”   And at a young age, I developed a hatred for John Elway that required of me many prayers of repentance.     As painful as those experiences were, being a Browns fan only grew more difficult as I aged. ...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Acts 11:1-18   Even the Gentiles   I’m not sure one can truly understand this story from the book of Acts unless you first understand the story of Jonah.   I don’t mean the big fish part.   I don’t mean the stuff they put in illustrated Children’s Bibles.   I mean the real reason Jonah ran away to Joppa when God gave him orders for Ninevah.     At first it is a mystery; the reader can’t actually know why Jonah refuses the mission because the book does not immediately tell us.   And so we are, initially, left to speculate.   Ninevah was the capital of an enemy empire.   And so at first it seems like maybe Jonah is afraid of what will happen to him there.   The city was infamously wicked and violent.   It was a scary place.   And for Jonah, a foreigner, it would have been especially scary.   But it turns out, that’s not it.   Jonah’s reason is not clear until th...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Mark 8:27-38   A Hard Teaching   James’ advice is certainly some of the least heeded in the entire Bible.   “Not many of you should become teachers…”   Considering there are approximately 3.5 million teachers in our country alone, not to mention professors, instructors, and faith leaders, I would suppose even the most ardent biblical literalists do not take this canonical counsel literally.   “Not many of you should become teachers…” is an interesting passage to hear on the very Sunday we begin Sunday School, on the day we bless students and teachers, on the day Mthr. Claire teaches the first session of our new class, The Road to Emmaus, at the beginning of a new year of Ribbon Training, and early in this sixth season of our Parish Bible Study.   Teaching, it seems, is much more popular in the parish than it is in the epistle of James.   Honestly, even Jesus doesn’t take James all that seriously. ...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 14:22-33   In the Chaos   Jesus is probably not the most intriguing character in today’s Gospel story.   Peter, I think, is far more interesting.   Sure, Jesus successfully traverses the surface of a large and angry lake.   But, at this point in Matthew’s Gospel, at this point in your church-going life, are you really surprised that Jesus can accomplish the impossible?   Jesus has already healed the sick, cured the maimed; in the previous Gospel story, Jesus fed 5,000 men – plus women and children – with what amounted to a single Lunchable.   His birth was announced by angels and marked by the temporary appearance of a star.   Those of us familiar with the end of the Gospel know that this same Jesus will eventually rise from the dead, walk through walls to meet his disciples, and bodily ascend into Heaven.   Walking on the water is impressive, but it is far from the most impressive Jesus m...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 18:21-35 Forgiveness Peter could really use a win. Like many students, he just wants to impress his teacher. And if we're being honest here, some of his previous attempts have not gone terribly well – especially that time Jesus called him Satan, in front of the entire class. That stung. But you have to give him credit, he is persistent. Once again today, he musters up his courage and goes for it. I imagine he studied late into the night, scrutinized the exact wording he would use, practiced in the mirror. He probably played out the scenario in his head dozens of times – just to be absolutely sure that this comment would not again earn him a satanic nickname, but would instead, garner that most precious prize: a gold star from his rabbi, from his teacher. It's a good question and goes off without a hitch: How often should I forgive someone who sins against me? As many as seven times? Now, a lot of people strug...