Most scholars begin by understanding the water as a reference to baptism and the blood to the atoning death of Jesus. But which baptism, Jesus’ or ours? Does the blood represent Jesus' death or is it in reference to the blood of Jesus in the Eucharistic meal? Or is the answer all of the above?
Read MoreYou are not the vine, you are the branches.
Read MoreAs I have said before, the community was important to those early Christians. There was no social safety net. Life was hard and if tragedy happened there was no one around to help, but with a community of believers there was.
Read MoreThat is where the early Christians had the advantage. They were already the laughing stock of their neighbors. Why would anyone follow someone who died on the cross – belittled and humiliated? Actually that may be what attracted those first Christians.
Read MoreIn our times there are many more possible communities that you can belong to. Your daughter’s baseball team, the PTA, the local drinking club, even – What do they call it? – Steeler’s Nation. So many other opportunities and so fewer people see this community – the body of Christ – as an important ingredient in their lives. But those other communities are not concerned about you.
Read MoreChrist is risen, alleluia!
Read MoreBut, in the end, Jesus answered God’s call to serve others in need and now calls us to do the same. It is because Jesus answered God’s call that we are able to do the same.
Read MoreThe gift from God is to be able to live in a community where we share all of our lives, from the joys to the sorrows.
Read MoreGod does not set up an obstacle course for you to run to see if you are good enough to be God’s children. Neither does God give you a list of things that you must do in order to be raised from the dead. God has already provided for you by giving His son Jesus for you.
Read MoreInstead of looking inside of ourselves we spend a great deal of time and money on gimmicks that only make us look good on the outside.
Read MoreTake some extra time this week to ponder your life. Look at what God has given you and pray that you can use God’s gifts to make the world and the lives of those around you better.
Read MorePaul talks about faith as an inheritance. Which reminds us that it is a gift given to us even though we do not deserve it. This can make it difficult to comprehend and sometimes difficult to accept.
Read MoreIt is as if God has turned the world upside down. Instead of being rewarded for obeying, we are able to obey because we have received our reward.
This is certainly a strange way to get people to do what you would like them to do. We usually don't pay someone the whole price of some work that they are going to do for us before the work is finished. We all have heard stories like that. It just goes against human behavior. Yet God does it for us.
Read MoreI suppose that is in part because change is not something any of us really want. But mostly the fear of the unknown can dominate our decision making process and allows us to convince ourselves to not act…
Paul did not accept those excuses.
Read MoreIt is not that the gospel is veiled, you are just wearing the dark glasses of desire. Those glasses, like sun-glasses, keep Jesus from shining into your lives.
Read MoreHe is reminding us here that it is the message that is important, not how someone looks or what they believe. Instead, we are called to give up our prejudices and open our lives to God.
Read MoreWe worship together and socialize together and within the community we grow in faith by sharing our faith journeys. It sometimes is not easy. Faith can be difficult work.
Read MoreThere was no guarantee that what Jesus offered was better than what they already had.
Read MoreAll you need is to speak a kind word to those feeling down or a helping hand to those in need. Simple extensions of God’s love to others.
Read MoreThis story teaches us a few things about our faith. First of all it reminds us that our faith is a constant learning about Jesus and God’s gifts. Like those early disciples we are not always correct in our beliefs. We do make mistakes and sometimes, even when we know what’s right, act in the wrong way.
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