2021

Eventually, though Jesus dismisses the crowd and sends the disciples to rest. He sends them across the lake to rest together and to find time for isolation. Jesus himself goes off to pray by himself. Rested and renewed, when Jesus and the apostles get out of the boat they get right back to work.

Just as John preached and was offered up, Jesus preached and was handed over, so too does Jesus ask us to follow: to preach, knowing that we may be handed over. We are proclaiming, along with Jesus that God’s reign is at hand with our sock box and pantry whose installation details are being worked out. The sharing that those inspire and invite are following Jesus on his way.

Paul, having been a disciple for a while now isn’t told to dig deep and find the answer within. “My grace is sufficient for you.” There is no platitude about finding the good or looking for the silver lining. Jesus doesn’t advise Paul that his suffering will add to his dignity. “My grace is sufficient for you.”

Faith. How do we describe it? The Gospel story is quite clear that faith is not the blind following of accepted social or religious practices. Mark tells us that Jesus is ignoring important cultural mores of the day. A bleeding woman would have been unclean, and unable to enter the temple or participate in society. Touching a person who is dead would also have been considered unclean, and yet Jesus took the hand of Jairus’ daughter.

An extemporaneous sermon for Mark 4.35-41.

We don’t always see the fruits of our labors. But rather than despair remember we walk by faith and not by sight.

Rather than be held back by family who thinks Jesus has lost his mind, Jesus expands who his family is. “Looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’”…When we’ve been rejected by our families, queer or not, Jesus has embraced us into his.

Patrick’s prayer affirms an ever-present, dynamic God, similar to the dynamic relational God of process theology. God is everywhere, sustaining everything, guiding our steps, and giving us wisdom to face the challenges of each day. God is a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere.

Jesus promised the disciples an advocate, a helper, a Spirit of Truth, and that Spirit has come.

Jesus prayed for his disciples. Knowing that they would face trials and persecution and that people make mistakes, that we are not saving ourselves, that we cannot save ourselves, Jesus prayed for his disciples. In the moments before Jesus goes out to be arrested, he prays for his disciples.