Come & See
Sunday Gospel Reflections
When Andrew met Jesus, he knew that Jesus was the Messiah. That's why Andrew invited his brother Simon (later called Peter) to come and see for himself.
Come and see who we are.
Come and see God's goodness.
Come and see how we love.
How Will You Respond?
Will we be like the crowd, swayed by voices of rejection and fear? Or will we, like the centurion, look upon the crucified Jesus and declare, “Surely this man was innocent”?
Mary Knew the Next Right Thing to Do
We need both the resuscitation of Lazarus and the resurrection of Jesus to help us see the whole picture, to help us glimpse another way of seeing, to help us see that Mary’s gift was exactly the right thing at the right time, the way to embody her thanksgiving and love of Jesus. She could see. And thus, she knew the next right thing to do, whether it be anointing Jesus’ feet or going to the tomb. And that is enough, both for Mary and for us.
Image: Soichi Wantanabe, Mary Washes Jesus’ Feet
This isn’t a Story About Fairness
This isn’t a story about fairness, about justice measured out carefully with a teaspoon, this is a story about grace.
Image: The Prodigal Son by Kirby Kendrick
It’s the Manure That Makes Things Grow
It’s the manure that makes things grow. It’s not our clean, beautiful perfection, our strengths, our places where we’re competent. It’s the times where things were hard, impossible even. It’s those places where we couldn’t find a way out, where all we could do was slog and struggle and be stuck. It’s the heartbreak that made me grow. If there is a shortcut to heaven, it happens in adversity, when we take the heartbreak of our lives and open it all up to the light of God.
Are We Willing to Seek Refuge in Christ?
The image of a mother hen gathering her chicks beautifully illustrates God’s nurturing care and the deep grief when His children refuse to come under His protection. The question remains: Are we willing to seek refuge in Christ?
Image: Finding Refuge by Beth Nendryes Williams
Being Perfect Isn’t the Christian Story
Being perfect isn’t the Christian story. If you look through all of our scriptures, there was only one who managed to pull through without sinning and that’s Jesus. The rest of us, the rest of the heroes of the Bible, the rest of the saints, every single one comes off as not the sharpest knife in the drawer, full of shadow and sin. Every single one.
Image: All Saints | Wassily Kandinsky
Behold the Glory and Goodness of God
God calls us into lives that point to God’s glory and so often we resist that call and hide behind veils. But know this: God created you, all of you, in God’s image and to God’s own glory.
Love Your Enemies
It’s a long process, learning to love our enemies. It takes time, a long time. And I don’t know about y’all, but there are a few people that I’ve forgiven, gotten almost to the love part and then something shifts in my life and I have to start the work all over again. This work is never over. Loving our enemies takes a really long time and there are no shortcuts. It also helps if you have a good therapist. Just sayin’.
Blessings Or Woes?
Today we’re being asked to re-think what we consider blessings and what we know to be woes.
The world and all of it’s logics isn’t the final story. It’s not what we are living for. We’re here because we’ve heard the voice of Jesus call to us. We’re here because we know there is another way. There is a way where the meek inherit the earth, where the poor are blessed, where those who weep will laugh and where those who laugh now will mourn and weep.
When You Become That Consolation
When you become that consolation, not just to yourself but to so many others, your light shines like the sun. We see you sitting in these pews and your very presence consoles us. You are making a difference and we notice.