Preaching the Scriptures

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Hosea 1:2-10 Bad Names At the tail-end of our Gospel reading today, Jesus extols the basic decency that is inherent in your average, run-of-the-mill parent.   Admittedly, it is a fairly low bar that he sets.   He takes for granted that the parents in that 1 st century crowd, when their children are hungry, when they ask for dinner, do not place on their little ones’ plates live, venomous creatures – not even when those children are acting very naughty.   Jesus assumes that the typical parent basically wants good things for his or her children.   And I do think that most children of most parents would agree with Jesus’ rather milquetoast statement.   But I can think of three children who might legitimately contend with Christ.   The three kids that I have in mind have a father named Hosea and a mother who apparently had very little say in the naming process. There are many reasons the Old Testament passage fr...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson John 13 Love until it hurts This night is defined by ritual action, by those things we do.   We do things during this liturgy that happen only once in the entire Church year.   Foot-washing is reserved for Maundy Thursday.   The stripping of the altar is reserved for Maundy Thursday.   The exit of the Reserved Sacrament to its temporary home on the Altar of Repose in the Chapel of the Consoling Christ is reserved for Maundy Thursday. And then there is the Institution of the Lord's Supper, which we remember on this night as well.   And so placed amid all of these unique liturgical events is the one we practice most of all: the Holy Eucharist.   At least weekly, sometimes, like this week, with even greater frequency, we gather together and we remember the night in which Jesus instituted this Sacrament.   And as a community of Christians, we eat his body and drink his blood – week after week after week. ...