In today’s gospel reading we gain a glimpse of Jesus reacting with two of his disciples. Philip and Andrew came to tell him that some Greeks had arrived asking to see him. As he so often did, Jesus answered indirectly. He didn’t say, “Send them away” or “Sure let them come in.” Instead, he took…

Today we continue to draw closer to the week of the Passion of Jesus. Our scripture lessons focus on the passion he experiences as he moves toward the trial before Pontius Pilate, the cross, and the Resurrection. We talk a great deal about compassion. Jesus was the most compassionate person God ever put on the…

I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. As we head toward the end of our Lenten season, we see God doing familiar things in new and disturbing ways. The People of God are all familiar…

A young man throws open the door and bounds across the church basement floor carrying a stack of books. He heads for the circle of chairs assembled for this Sunday morning’s Bible study group. The books have all been well pored over. They are filled with nearly as much of his own note taking as…

Oh, to have been around to hear the conversation Philip and Andrew had about the Greeks’ request! Surely they were having a lively discussion about these outsiders who were bold enough to approach Jesus to speak with him. It seems that Philip and Andrew went together to hear Jesus’ reaction, wondering what their Jewish teacher…

In the works of the best selling novelist Tom Clancy, there are a number of characters who appear in almost every story. For anyone who has read Clancy’s books, certain main characters come to mind: the mysterious CIA agent John Clark, White House Chief of Staff Arnie van Damm, FBI Director Bill Shaw, and, of…