Both Shepherd and Lamb
April 18, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Good Friday, April 18, 2014 – Year A
Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Hebrews 10:16-25, John 18:1-19:42
If you were here this past Sunday, you heard me explain that these narratives about Jesus’ death are called “The Passion” because the Latin root of the word is passio, which means suffering.
Throughout the Passion narrative from Matthew read on Sunday, we got a sense of the suffering Jesus endured, yet today’s account from John is quite different. In John’s gospel Jesus is the one directing the course of action, from beginning to end, and this is reflected in the Passion story, as well.
In today’s reading, after Judas brought the soldiers and temple police into the garden where Jesus was, instead of Judas kissing Jesus on the cheek, as told in Matthew’s version, here we have Jesus stepping forward on his own. He asks the soldiers who is it they seek, and when they say “Jesus of Nazareth” Jesus responds, without hesitation, “I am he.” Read the rest of this entry »
Rebirth of Understanding
March 16, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
The Second Sunday in Lent – Year A RCL
Genesis 12:1-4a; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17
In today’s gospel we hear the familiar story of Nicodemus, a leader in the Jewish tradition; a Pharisee. During the night, under the cover of darkness, Nicodemus comes to Jesus. Having seen the signs that Jesus has done, he affirms that Jesus must be a teacher who comes from God, because surely these signs wouldn’t be possible without God’s presence.
And instead of accepting this affirmation from Nicodemus, it says, “Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’”
Nicodemus is confused by this. He likes things to be straight-forward. He’s used to abiding by the letter of the law, carrying out the commandments that God has set forth. So now, he hears Jesus saying that one has to be “born from above” and Nicodemus’ literal nature responds in a literal way: “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”
But Jesus isn’t talking about an earthly birth, one based in flesh, but instead, he talks of being born of the Spirit. Being born into the person God calls us to be; not the image that the world has for us.
So what is this rebirth? What does it look like?
A few words from Jesus, CEO
October 27, 2013
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Proper 25 – Year C RCL
Joel 2:23-32, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18, Luke 18:9-14
As many of you know, before attending seminary, I spent twenty years in the banking industry. During my last job there, I was the Business Manager for the Commercial Middle Market of the Southwest Region, working closely with the CEO of that Market. About once a quarter we’d carve out a week or two to travel to each city in our region to touch base. Each day we’d hop on a Southwest Airlines flight (“the company plane”) and head to San Antonio, or Dallas, or El Paso… you get the picture.
David, my boss, liked to use every minute possible to prepare for these meetings. He wanted them to be productive, personal and motivating. So after boarding the plane each morning around 7:00 a.m., David, the finance guy, and I would sit together, pull out a stack of spreadsheets, and begin identifying the talking points for that day’s discussion.
Since most people on the plane just want to get one more hour of sleep before reaching their destination, it’s not surprising that we were greeted with scowls from nearby passengers, but David was oblivious to that. He had a message to deliver, and he wanted to be ready. The comfort of those around him was of no concern.
During those trips, day after day over the course of the week or two, David would share his vision for the business, adding market-specific nuance to fit their needs, but the overall theme was consistent.
I think the writer of Luke’s gospel would have fit well into this corporate communication model. There’s a repetitious theme that runs through the stories, with slight variations based on the audience, not unlike David’s market visits. As I started thinking more about this, I wondered what it might look like if Jesus had crafted and delivered his message in a similar way. Read the rest of this entry »
Kindling a New Fire, Bull Durham style
August 18, 2013
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Proper 15 – Year C RCL
Luke 12:49-56
Those of you who are baseball fans are probably familiar with the movie Bull Durham. For those less familiar, it’s a story about a struggling minor league baseball team, the Durham Bulls. There’s a scene in the movie… when the team is into their season, and at this point, they’ve lost twice as many games as they’ve won, and the coach is struggling with how to turn things around.
After an especially dismal game, the team and coaches head down to the locker room. While the players are getting cleaned up after the game, the usually mild-mannered coach picks up an armful of baseball bats, and throws them wildly into the team shower. They bang onto the hard tile floor and scatter all over the place, sending the towel-clad players jumping; trying not to get hit or fall down! The coach yells for all the other players in the locker room to get into the showers, and starts counting to ten! One Mississippi, Two Mississippi…
jodygreenwood 