Preaching the Scriptures

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...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson John 20:1-18 An Honest Easter It is Easter Sunday morning and you are at home.   Our beautiful nave sits in still darkness, the pews as empty as the tomb.   There are no lilies filling the chancel with lovely perfume; no choristers packed tightly into the choir stalls.   The high altar is stacked with neither flower nor flagon.   There are no hosts on the Holy Table. On this strange Easter morning, it would be easy to focus on what we lack.   Not only would it be easy, it would be honest.   Even as we sound our Alleluias today, we do so with a lump in our throats and grief in our hearts. And so we have something very much in common with the women who ventured to Jesus’ tomb on that first Easter morning.   In the darkness of the pre-dawn morning, they traveled a dusty path to visit the cold, dead body of their beloved – their hearts overflowing with grief, cheeks burnt red by tears, their voices silenced ...