Sunday's sermon

 Tomorrow I'm talking about Mark's Jesus condemning rich people.

In the first century, Jews thought wealth meant God's approval of rich people's lives.

But Jesus turns away a rich young man who won't give up his wealth to follow Jesus.

The disciples are shocked but Jesus tells them: "it is harder for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.

Pretty tough, no?

Some early scholars suggested that there was a gate to Jerusalem that was called 'the needle' and a camel could go through on it's knees. But why would a camel owner do that because there were other gates.

Besides, history says there was no such gate.

But Jesus saves the rich by saying "In God, all things are possible."

In God all things are possible.

Something to ponder and reflect on.

In God, all things are possible....

I have a bad cold

 I've been sneezing and blowing my nose for two days.

I got the Covid booster yesterday and blamed it. But Bern told me I was crazy....Which I am.

I feel better tonight at 9 p.m. so I hope that holds.

Not great to have a cold as it's getting colder out in the world.

I hate both kinds of 'cold'.

Today in Bible Study

 ...we started reading Ezekiel, which I don't think many of the other 5 there had ever read.

People were astounded at God's bitterness and punishment toward the people of Israel in exile.

They were thinking of Luke's depiction on God as forgiving and loving.

Ezekiel is a different matter.

God is angry and feels betrayed by the people of Israel.

Don't get on God's bad side!

 

cold, cold, cold....

It's 8 p.m. And it's cold.

Not as cold as it will be as the year winds down--I know that. But I don't like it cold.

My wife and I fight over the thermostat.

She wants it at 65 and I want it near 70.

We were watching TV a while ago and I have on a shirt, a sweatshirt and my Kansas City Chiefs jacket with the hood up.

She said, "are you cold?" Which seemed like a silly question to me.

So, she's going to hook up a little heater on my side of the bed tonight.

I'd rather turn up the thermostat....

 

I don't write out my sermons any more

Which is why I don't put them on my blog any more.

I make notes as I read the lessons and preach from the notes.

I've been doing this a long time--I don't need a text to read. I know what I want to say and how and I say it.

Today's sermon was about divorce, children and Job.

Mark's Jesus was harsh about divorce so I assured the congregation that the Episcopal church allows it.

Jesus was also with children today and Trinity has a great stained glass window of Jesus with children.

I talked about children being dependent, loving, patient and kind.

(The youngest person in the congregation today--8--told me she wasn't patient at all!)

Then I talked about Job--whose tribulations made up the Old Testament lesson. I talked about how he accepted the good and the bad and did not blame God for the bad he experienced.

I told the congregation (and myself!) we must be like little children to enter the Kingdom and like Job in accepting the bad with the good.

That's what I said.

 

Mailman

We always know when the mailman comes (I should say 'mail deliverer' since it could be a woman) because our dog, Brigit barks when he or she is on our porch.

Brigit didn't bark for 3 years after we adopted her as an abused dog.

But she found her voice a few months ago.

I hate the sound, but I'm so, so glad she thinks she's safe enough to bark....

 

Car woes

Driving up to Trinity Church, Milton, normally takes around half-an-hour.

But Wednesday I got stuck in a traffic jam a few miles before the Watertown exit off RT 8 North. It took me 20 minutes to go 2 miles and then it simply broke up. Try as I may I can't come up with a reason that it happened....

Then, on the way back, somewhere in Waterbury on I 84, my power steering went off.

I nearly lost both arms driving without it.

I called our favorite service place when I got home and they couldn't look at it until Friday.

I took it down today--power steering working fine--and left it for them to look at tomorrow.

I can't figure that out any more than the traffic traffic jam.

I wish I had the super power to 'beam' myself to places and not use a car....