Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Isaiah 35:4-7a   Dreamer   Isaiah was as dreamer.   And I mean that as a compliment.   And I say that, because, while I know pretty much what every person in this world is against these days, I know almost nothing of their dreams.   I know what makes them rage, but I have no idea what brings tears to their eyes.     It sometimes feels like we are living on a scorched earth.   To me it feels like everywhere I look there is seething discontent, just so much anger; every post, that is not a baby, a pet, or a pun, is a complaint, frustration, or insult; every headline a tragedy; every cable news segment a red-hot poker; every life and every death fuel for some partisan fire.     Of course, there are things in the world that should fill us with holy anger, but just probably not everything.     I don’t claim to know all the reasons for all the anger; I’m sure they are legion. ...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Psalm 79 & 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Prayer and Love The Bible is a strangely complex book.   And occasionally the lectionary makes sure that we do not forget that fact.   Today is one of those days.   The contrast between the abrasive emotion of today’s psalm and the gentle inclusivity we heard in the letter to Timothy, for example, is significant; there is an emotional range displayed there.   It is kind of like the range of emotions in our nation the day after a presidential election, when half of the country, those for the whom the election did not go as they had hoped, is crying out with the psalmist, “Pour out your wrath upon the heathen” and the other half is like my grandma, posting facebook memes reminding those in anguish that the Bible does tell us to say our prayers for “kings and all who are in high positions.”   The Bible has range. What is perhaps most interesting about these divergent scriptural expressions,...