Presby-Musings

  As we continue our journey through Holy Week, on Holy Tuesday, we reflect on a story from the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus offers a powerful image that invites reflection and honesty.  It's also a bit weird.   The Gospel reading tells us: 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. (Matthew 21:19) At first glance, this moment feels harsh. Why would Jesus curse a fig tree? I mean, what did the fig tree ever do to him?  Theologians often interpret this as a living parable. The tree, full of leaves but lacking fruit, becomes a symbol of outward vitality without inward substance.   Jesus was about to take his disciples to the Temple, and he wanted them to learn that looking good on the outside doesn't mean having spiritual health on the inside.   Theologian Marcus Borg suggests that Jesus consistently challenged...

Throughout Holy Week, we walk with Jesus toward the Cross, allowing His actions to reveal what true devotion, true obedience, and faith in action look like. According to the Gospel reading for this day, Jesus enters the Temple and disrupts what has become ordinary but unhealthy.  The Temple in Jerusalem had become a money-making enterprise for the High Priest and his family. Pilgrims arriving in Jerusalem to make a sacrifice often had to purchase animals for the ceremony, but they could only do so with money minted by the Temple.   In order to change their coins into the shekels used by the Temple, they had to pay fees to Temple-approved money changers, many of whom also sold the animals.  All of this took place in the outer courtyard of the Temple, and the practice was exploitive toward those who were poor.   Jesus begins turning over the tables of the money-changers, and seizes a leather whip to drive them out of the courtyard.  It must have been a ...

  It ’s Palm Sunday This is the first day of Holy Week, and commemorates Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem.   It’s also a day when we see Jesus’ unarmed revolution in full effect.   Today, we are going to explore the story of Jesus's entry into Jerusalem in a dramatically different way than the Empire.  And we’ll also learn something about what it means to be rescued by love.   JESUS SHOWS US THAT LOVE, NOT FORCE, IS WHAT RESCUES US.   Matthew 21:1-11 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet: 5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, ...

The season of Lent is drawing to a close.  This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week and the final part of our journey of symbolically following in Jesus' footsteps on the way to the Cross.   I hope that you have had a meaningful and blessed Lenten journey.  I know that my own path during Lent has been filled with moments of struggle, but there have also been moments when I have felt God's presence surrounding me and the joy of knowing that I am held in love.  I have had more than a few opportunities to reflect on what this Lenten season has been teaching me about surrender, repentance, and what it means to empty myself of myself so I can experience more of Christ.   As we come to the threshold of Holy Week, the words of Alicia Britt Chole offer a needed reframing of what this season has been shaping within us:  “Lent is a much-needed mentor in an age obsessed with visible, measurable, manageable, and tweetable increase… Then Easter l...

As we draw nearer to Holy Week, I wanted to share a passage of Scripture from Luke 18:9-14 that spoke to me this week:  9 [Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other, for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” The opening verse of this passage is the key that unlocks everything that follows. It is not simply...

I served for nearly ten years at a church where nearly all of the crimes that were committed in the small town where it was located happened within a three-mile radius of its address.   We were surrounded by diverse neighborhoods where drug deals happened on a regular basis, people were often victims of violent crime, poverty was rampant, and there were scores of unhoused people.   Once, I read a police report that a man was arrested for attacking someone with a sword just a few blocks from the church.  I also had to go to court on numerous occasions to testify that our address was indeed a church, which was a mitigating circumstance in trials for drug-related arrests.    What I learned during my tenure there was that we could easily try to ignore the poor and marginalized around us, or choose to help them.  The former was the easiest choice, and the latter was hard, but when we decided to embrace it, the church and our neighborhood were transform...

Living generously during the season of Lent is a practice that we can carry with us throughout the year, if we are willing and able.   But for many of us, we let our fears about our own safety and security go, let go of our feelings of scarcity, and practice it during Lent, much less every day after.   Living with a generous spirit is a choice we make every day, and the more we practice it, the more we realize that there is a huge difference between living generously and being frivolous with our money.   When we choose to live generously every day, we discover that it transforms the very way we see the world around us.   Generosity is not limited to specific acts; it becomes a way of life. When shaped by God’s grace, generosity extends into every interaction, every decision, and every relationship.  It is not something we turn on and off, but something that slowly becomes part of who we are. Over time, generosity moves from occasional action ...

The reason the Daily Devo is coming to you late this morning is that I was practicing some self-care for a change.  I know that sounds like a lame excuse, but let me explain.   I had a rough night's sleep last night, so when my alarm woke me up at 6 AM this morning, I made the executive decision to turn it off and go back to sleep.   I had a very busy weekend with a wedding two and a half hours away, an amazing Sunday worship, and a lot of other things that kept me from a good Sunday nap and an early bedtime.   I needed sleep, and more than just five hours' worth.  But then I felt guilty about it, and beat myself up a bit this morning for being "lazy."  The more I reflected on it, the more I realized that self-care is an act of generosity toward yourself, and as Lenten practices goes, it's one that I too-often ignore.   You see, generosity is not only outward; it also includes how we care for ourselves. Investing in our well-being i...

  It’s The Fifth Sunday of Lent The season of Lent offers us a time to consider how best to identify with Jesus during the forty days from the Cross to Easter.    This series will teach us what it means to face injustice, evil, and suffering by laying down everything but love.   What does it mean to be unarmed with nothing but love in our current culture?   What are the barriers we put up to protect us? What happens when we feel like all hope is gone?   Today, we are going to explore a story of Jesus raising a man named Lazarus from the dead, and we’re going to learn what it means to hope and trust in God when all hope is lost.   HOPE IS NOT THE POWER TO PREVENT LOSS; IT’S THE TRUST THAT GOD IS AT WORK BEYOND IT.   John 11:1-45 Mary and Martha send word to Jesus that their brother Lazarus is dying.   4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather, it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God ma...

It takes a lot to keep a church thriving and vibrant.  For sure, it takes a dedicated and passionate staff and engaged and devoted leadership, but more importantly, it takes members who show their love for their faith community by being involved.  I've often preached and taught that church isn't a place we go to, it's who we are.  Those of us who choose to stumble after Jesus are the church to the world around us whereever we happen to be.  To that end, I also need to add that the church is not simply a place we attend; it is a community of faith we help sustain.  Our church is a living body made up of people who gather not only to worship, but to support, encourage, and grow alongside one another. Serving within our faith community is an essential expression of generosity. It reflects the understanding that we belong to one another and that each person has something meaningful to offer. Paul describes the church as a body with many parts, each contributing some...