Jesus said to his disciples,

            “As the Father has loved me,

                        so I have loved you;

                                    abide in my love…..

Some years ago, I went on a silent retreat at the Trinity Episcopal Center in Salter Path, NC…right across the road from the ocean.

Having never been there before, I was struck by how many trees there were….

A friend of mine is a cardio-thoracic surgery PA.

He told me that one Good Friday, he began an operation by making an incision in the side of a patient’s chest….

Today’s scripture readings are readings which offer the hope of new life, and in the midst of the deep darkness that shrouds our world, words of new life are balm for our souls….

We gather together this evening just as three women gathered two thousand years ago. 

Just two days before,
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome
    had watched Jesus being crucified….

Today, Good Friday, we celebrate the death of Jesus.

That word “celebrate” may sound strange in this context…

Today’s text are all about God doing something new!

I’m all for new things…
           as long as I don’t have to change anything.

The word “believe” occurs in today’s gospel passage 5 times….
So, I’m thinking it must be important!

Jesus’ passionate flurry of activity in today’s Gospel reading seems unparalleled; it’s one of the stories we all remember and can probably visualize with great detail….

Up to this point in the Gospel of Mark we hear stories of Jesus restoring life:
            giving sight to the blind,
                        driving demons out of the possessed,
                                    restoring mobility to the lame….

Our gospel writer, Mark, is a man of few words,
            yet he provides us with quite vivid imagery….

One of my favorite spiritual authors is Henri Nouwen. I want to share with you some of his words that capture the spirit of Lent:
“Our life is a short time in expectation,
a time in which sadness and joy kiss each other at every moment…..”

Today is a pivotal day.
Today is a pivotal day in the journey of Elijah and Elisha.
Today is a pivotal day in the journey of Jesus and his disciples….

This morning I’m going to do two things I almost never do with a sermon:
           give it a title and…
            use all the readings!

Today’s homily may look a little more like a Bible study than a sermon…           I have a lot of questions for today’s gospel story.
      I humbly offer you my reflections.

Life is full of decisions:
            some are small,
      and some are big….

Have you ever gotten to the end of your day,
and felt like you were just then sitting down for the first time?

Even if you had been sitting at a computer all day….

This past Tuesday Ray sent me a text with a photo of a scene out of a hospital window.

In the foreground were the rooftops of buildings
            with their requisite large vents and other hunks of metal….

Advent is a season when we talk about waiting and watching – 
          waiting and watching for Christ in our midst – but how are we to wait and watch with so many distractions around us?

One early evening a few days before Thanksgiving, a friend pulled into a parking spot at her neighborhood Walgreen’s.

As she walked around the corner, she almost stepped on a man who was sitting on the ground, leaning up against one of the pillars….