Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Jonah 3:10-4:11 What we like (and dislike) about God   I’m a priest; my wife is a pastor; my children are PKs twice over; and so we have, in our home, a number of Children’s Bibles.   And all of them include the story of Jonah.   Well, excerpts from the story of Jonah; definitely not the whole story.   Most of them begin with Jonah running in the opposite direction; they always include the big fish, from belly to beach; and they typically conclude with the happy ending of the book: when the people of Ninevah repent and are saved – because of Jonah. They never include this part of the story: the part where Jonah is mad because God refuses to kill all the people.   The true ending of Jonah, what we heard this morning, never makes the cut.   This is, admittedly, not Jonah’s finest moment; he does not make a great impression in today’s passage – which is the conclusion of the book that bears his name. Finally, the...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 18:21-35 Forgiveness   It is a great question – asked in just the right way.   This Peter, he knows what he is doing.   “How often should I forgive?”   That's a pretty pious inquiry.   But he doesn't stop there.   “As many as seven times?”   Not one.   Not two.   Not three.   Not four.   Not five.   Not six. But seven times.   I mean, a good man might forgive once.   What about one who would forgive seven times?   That person would have to be pretty extraordinary.   And so you see, it is a great question.   Every pupil wants to impress their teacher.   Peter is no different.   He wants Jesus to be impressed with him – impressed with the depth of his kindness and goodness.   And so he asks the question, just knowing the answer will, of course, be something along the lines of: “Seven times. Well, Peter that is above and beyond.   ...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Acts 6:8-7:2a, 51c-60   The saint we have chosen to haunt us   Today is a martyr feast, our martyr feast – a perpetual day of mourning.   As red as the blood that stained that ancient stone and dust.   As red as the blood that stains our history.   We are called Grace and St. Stephen’s: we have adopted this feast, the one we celebrate today.   We have adopted this martyr.   We are the ones who keep his death alive.   Stephen is our ghost.   He is the saint we have chosen to haunt us.   His story is our story; his life our possession.   It is 2000 years later and we are sitting in the shadow of his shrine, listening to the shadow of his story – or at least what is left of his story.   Time is polishing him down so that he fits nicely into a couple of chapters – chapters still too long to read in one church service.   Even his truncation has been truncated.     ...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Isaiah 51:1-6   Quarry Who are you?   When the Zoom meetings end, when the screen goes black, when the lights go out and the night wraps you in silence, when everything else fades and your eyes close for the night: who are you? It is a question for all times, but one that feels especially pressing during these times.   During these pandemic days so much has been stripped away, put away – so much has passed away.   So many things upon which we have established our identity are gone; so many things in which we have grounded our sense of self have proved impermanent; so many foundations have cracked and crumbled.   I have found myself wondering: what is a priest without an altar?   Or a pastor without the ability to visit?   Or a member of the Body of Christ without the opportunity to be nourished by the Body of Christ?   The existential questions of this time are relentless – and far too often uneasi...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 14:22-33   In the Chaos   Jesus is probably not the most intriguing character in today’s Gospel story.   Peter, I think, is far more interesting.   Sure, Jesus successfully traverses the surface of a large and angry lake.   But, at this point in Matthew’s Gospel, at this point in your church-going life, are you really surprised that Jesus can accomplish the impossible?   Jesus has already healed the sick, cured the maimed; in the previous Gospel story, Jesus fed 5,000 men – plus women and children – with what amounted to a single Lunchable.   His birth was announced by angels and marked by the temporary appearance of a star.   Those of us familiar with the end of the Gospel know that this same Jesus will eventually rise from the dead, walk through walls to meet his disciples, and bodily ascend into Heaven.   Walking on the water is impressive, but it is far from the most impressive Jesus m...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Romans 8:26-39 Separation “Faith, hope, and love,” claims N.T. Wright, “are not deductions from our day-to-day experience; they are rooted in God’s faithfulness, God’s purposes, and above all in God’s own love, seen and known in Jesus and in the strange presence of the Holy Spirit.” [1] As I exited the building through the flag pole doors, I felt the weight of the moment.   The sound of the door closing was more symbolic than it had ever been before.   The previous week had been a dizzying mix of closure announcements and uncertainty; the ground was shifting beneath our feet; the typical was being toppled – and there was nothing we could do about it.   The news was moving fast, information and facts fluid in the face of a novel virus.   I left the church knowing that the pews would sit empty for the next couple of weeks.   I left the church knowing that the next day, a Monday, would be the last day McWilliams’ House w...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Isaiah 55:10-13 Into  the Future: A Sermon for Baccalaureate Sunday   My first college campus visit did not go as I had hoped.   Five hundred miles away from home, amidst the cornfields of Illinois, my parents turned our van right at the town’s one and only stop light.   And after a long day of travel across some very flat states, we arrived on campus.   I was seventeen and I was nervous. While my parents lodged in the cozy bliss of the Super 8 that weekend, I stayed with Dan.   Dan had a thick mane of red hair and a brilliant mathematical mind.   He was less adept socially.   Not long after we met, he took me to his dorm room.   And he left me there alone.   He explained that he had plans that evening with his friends.   And rather than invite me to join him, he invited me to spend a quiet evening in his room, by myself.   And while that does sound sad, it turns out that was not the...