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Acts 2:1-13;  Romans 8:26-27   At least from the perspective of Jesus’s disciples, his decision to step out of his earthly ministry soon after Easter may have been as dramatic as unsettling. He told them it was his Father’s decision. I wonder whether God’s decision to take Jesus away from them just a few weeks […]

Isaiah 66:13;  John 19:26-27;  Proverbs 31:26;  Luke 1:46-49   Someone mentioned a new American version of the Bible that opens like this: “In the beginning, everything was created by Hallmark, and Hallmark saw that everything created was good. . .” Friends, even if such version of the Bible exists, let me tell you something that

Genesis 32:22-31;   John 16:31-33   Today I’d like to talk about Mr. Jacob, one of giants of the Old Testament, someone who, I’m sure, must have inspired Jesus more than once. A true giant, for Jacob never stopped struggling. As a matter of fact, Jacob was born struggling. Even in his mother’s womb he struggled

Habakkuk 3:17-19;   John 20:19-29 From time to time, we may come across friendly folks who say that they would believe in God if God would only send them a sign –I take them seriously, for there have been times when I felt the same way. Frederick Buechner, a well-known preacher and inspirational writer, has read

  Isaiah 6:1-6;   John 21:1-19 Our Gospel reading today narrates one of the most dramatic “incidents” with Jesus’s disciples, right after Easter. Somewhere by the Lake of Galilee, a bunch of weary, dispirited professional fishermen lament an unsuccessful night – in fact, they have caught nothing. Suddenly a stranger appears and gives them some unrequested

John 20:1-18 One of the most entertaining and inspiring stories I ever read can be found in the book One Hundred Years of Solitude, by the Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez. For this book, García Márquez was awarded the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature. The story I like so much is about an insomia-like illness

Mark 16:1-8   Mark, in his gospel tells us that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome come to the tomb of Jesus covered in black, prepared to see a corpse. Instead, they find the stone rolled back and see a “young man dressed in a white robe.” This “young man” all in

The Easter story and the Easter news, if you remember, begin very early one morning when a messenger tells the women by the empty tomb not to cry because Jesus isn’t there — he is already on his way to Galilee. “Ladies, Jesus is not among the dead, neither he belongs to the past! He

Psalm 118:14-29;  Mark 11:1-11 Our Lenten journey continues –in a few more days Jesus and his disciples will arrive in the Holy City to celebrate Passover. But Jesus is not an ordinary visitor, which explains the way he will be received by a huge crowd along Main Street –with shouts of welcome and triumph. “Hosanna!

Acts 16:5-15;   John 16:16-22 Our Lenten journey with Jesus continues – in two more weeks, on Palm Sunday, we’ll arrive to Jerusalem. Our Easter Cantata that Sunday will remind us of the welcoming, cheerful multitude along the main road. Now, why are we walking with Jesus all the way into Jerusalem, a Hebrew name that