Preaching the Scriptures

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Acts 2:1-21   What do we do with this fire?   What do we do with this fire? Breaking into locked spaces Scorching one-hundred and twenty faces Undermining homeostasis   In the upper room Where they were waiting It blew in on the breeze   At first among them And then on them Living lighters Just milling about Each saw one hundred and nineteen fires The others’ fires Everywhere Spotlighting the frenzied faces of friends and fellows Each person saw mant, but felt just one, one tongue of flame And one was enough   You don’t need to see what can be felt It’s like faith But in the hair On the scalp Like a burning bush: Consumed but not consumed   Disruptive To the days of silent prayer And talking And pacing And waiting Waiting for something To come down from the skies Like the angels promised   But not this No one expected this: To be set...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Mark 1:4-11   That Love   John the Baptist was very much a human.   I doubt that is a controversial statement.   But I say it because I believe that is what the Gospel of Mark would like us to understand.   The man who appeared in the wilderness, the man who stood waist deep in the waters of the Jordan, was human.   Mark gives us quite the description of John.   He was a baptizer; that was his vocation.   His message was repentance.   He was magnetic – or at least his message was.   Also, he wore, what I can only imagine, was a distinctive, and probably itchy, suit of camel’s hair.   He cinched it up with a leather belt.   And he lived off of the land, eating bugs and their vomit – honey.   Mark paints for us a fairly effective picture.   According to the gospel writer, John was a rugged, focused, unique, and holy human.   And I suspect an acquired taste – with hi...