Leavened bread, unleavened bread, or matzo? Mogen David, Moscato, or grape juice? Who knew the Memorial Service could be so complicated? My earliest memories were of one cup of wine, and brothers or sisters worrying about the germs that would be shared.

The vast majority of the parables Jesus told arrive somewhere – that is, they have an ending, we know how they turn out. 

It matters that there were eyewitnesses, and that it was no secret who they were. 

Wait, just a little longer.  But we’re like children; “a little longer” feels like forever.

Yearning is defined as “longing” for something.  Some dictionaries add that it’s “persistent”, some describe it as “often melancholy”, some add “especially for something you cannot have”. 

God’s teachings are so often done via metaphor, and the harvest is a rich one.

“What could go wrong?” You would never say that, right?  Are you really sure?  Because we humans do it a lot, even if not in those exact words.  In fact if we voiced the words we might do better, because there is always something that can go wrong, and we know it.

The fifth stanza of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, which is not always sung, contains these words: "In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me." These words of Julia Howe may have been inspired by the first few verses of Hebrews 1. How can the “glory” in Christ’s bosom transfigure us?

There have always been disasters, and there always will be until God’s Kingdom wipes away every tear.  This week we are seeing yet another, the earthquake in Haiti.

Disappointment and discouragement do happen, they are part of the universal lot of human beings... but what we do with those feelings is important.

Our naturally prideful spirit needs to be humbled, in recognition that it’s only by God’s phenomenal grace that we have hope. 

Christ’s sacrifice was not to appease God. It isn’t God who needs to change, it’s us. Nor was Jesus accepting punishment instead of us, in order to balance out the guilt we’ve piled up.