Preaching the Scriptures

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 15:1-10 The One I am not a shepherd, and so, perhaps, I am not one to judge, but I do wonder about this shepherd in Jesus’ parable.   I have concerns.   Something seems a little bit off with him.   To me his actions are so strange, I feel like I must be missing something.   In fact, I’d love to be able to access his inner dialogue.   But unfortunately I cannot.   And so how I imagine it, is something like this: 97, 98, 99…   Someone’s missing.   There should be one more.   I probably just miscounted.   OK.   I can just count again.   I wish they would just stand still.   It would make this so much easier.   97, 98, 99… <sigh> One is missing.   What should I do?   What should I do?   Well, I gotta find it.   Alright.   Sheep, listen.   I will be right back.   Stay.   Do you hear me?   Just stay.   Please.   OK...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 25:31-46 Sheep, Goats, or Something Else? Today’s Buzzfeed quiz is brought to you by the Gospel of Matthew: “BAA or MAA!?: Are you a super sheep or a ghastly goat?” Answer just six simple questions to find out! It is quite a quiz too. It has that essential element that really makes an on-line quiz pop: the element of surprise. Everyone seems very surprised by their results. And to keep it interesting, the stakes are shockingly high – not like “what will my facebook friends think of my results?” high. But still pretty high, like eternal punishment or eternal life. Today is Christ the King Sunday and the final Sunday of the Church year. And a month of very challenging Kingdom of God parables from Matthew’s Gospel has led us to this dramatic climax: the apocalyptic tale of the sheep and the goats – the final story Jesus tells the people before his arrest and crucifixion. This is the last song in the set list. In some ...