Jesus is dead. We saw him die. Ok, we didn’t see him die, but some of the others did. He had been talking about his death for a while. It made some of us pretty uncomfortable...

Biblical scholars say that when today’s Gospel of John has the risen Christ breathing on his disciples, John is intentionally calling up images of the creation story in Genesis when God scoops up the earth and breathes into it and creates the first human...

It was a Sunday afternoon in May. 8-year-old Sergio walked down a street in his hometown in Chile. As he walked with the cobblestone below his feet and the sun beating on his face, he began to feel a little off-balance. Within seconds he fell to the ground. From the ground, he saw chimneys falling through roofs and electrical wires swinging from telephone poles. For the next ten minutes, this earthquake rattled his hometown, which geographically moved 30 feet westward. As the town moved, a large tsunami wave started flowing across the Pacific Ocean headed toward Hawaii, Japan, and the Philippians. When that rattling finally stopped, it was named the largest recorded earthquake in history...

This is the night. This is my favorite night. Oh, what a night! It’s my favorite night mainly because it both clarifies & muddies resurrection. Oh, what a night, that I will remember. Now, in contemporary Christianity, I think we’ve taken the resurrection and limited it far too much. You see, in our continuous repetition of a figure of speech sometimes we turn a metaphor into a definition. For example, since the church seldom calls God “rock,” the language is recognized as metaphor, but because the church often calls God “father,” some people imagine God to be literally a father in the sky...

For three years, Jesus spent his ministry challenging authority. He spent time with the outcast and the marginalized – ate with them, healed them, walked with them, loved them. He faced those who were in power – criticized corruption, subverted oppressive structures, advocated for religious reforms, and challenged the Roman Empire itself. He inspired many and threatened many. His was a message of love and a vision of justice for all people. But this message threatened those in power so much that they decided to execute him. They took this man of hope and killed him as an enemy of the state and threat to the peace of Rome. On this night we remember how God came to us bringing love and justice for all people and it was so offensive to this world that we literally wanted to kill God With Us by nailing Jesus to a cross. It’s enough to leave us feeling hopeless – feeble – alone...

This year I was encouraged to go through a retirement planning program. At first, I felt old. Retirement planning, really? I’m not that old, am I? Then, I felt worried when I realized I need to save that much for retirement! Finally, I was confused. I was confused by the terminology and basics of financial planning. I can only imagine that those who aren’t theologically-trained feel the same way when I start talking about the bible and theology without any explanation. Since most pastors have no concept of personal finances, they tried to make this program incredibly easy. To do so, one page had a number line, scaled 1-5, and asked me to pick my “risk tolerance” - whatever that means. After reading the page over and over again I began to understand. A 1 was a lower risk and lower return, while a 5 was higher risk and higher possible return. The program suggested that if you’re nearing retirement, go for a 1 – low risk with a low, but more certain, return. Yet, if you have a longer time-horizon before retirement, go with the big 5! Sure, it is a higher risk, however there is a potential for a higher reward...

Fire - it’s complex, it’s mysterious, and it’s destructive. In the United States, we’ve seen an alarming level of wildfires this year. Over 2 million acres have been scorched, which is 10 times higher than average.[1] Some people are not the same after these raging fires. We look with pain at their burnt bodies, and we tremble with fear gazing at their simmering homes. In the Bible, stories of God’s fiery wrath are used to motivate or control. Even the inquisition used flames to compel heretics to recant. However, fire is also life-giving. In fact, some species of trees need fire for their seeds to be released from the cones.[2] Fire invites community when we cuddle-up in front of the fireplace or tell stories around a campfire. Fire illuminates. Fire warms. Fire provides life...

Has anyone else here been watching the new nature documentary, Planet Earth II? I have. When the first episode premiered a few weeks ago, I turned it on for some background noise and to catch some glimpses of spectacular natural wonders, but before I knew it I was hooked! I couldn’t look away! The series has a surprisingly enticing way of bringing to life the dramatic stories that play out in nature all around us – often without our notice. Now the intricate details of the lives of these exotic animals that are scraping out a way of life in beautiful but demanding climates captivate millions of people around the world, myself included. Last week, I was engrossed by the literal life and death struggle for a small family of elephants in Africa’s Kalahari Desert as they desperately searched for water. They trudged through the barren and arid landscape hoping that they would find water before it was too late. And just when it seemed that the burning sands would be unending, they find a watering hole full of life. Zebras, antelope, giraffes, ostriches, birds, and more huddle around this small oasis in the desert as they all lapped from this fountain of life. The animals that traveled for miles to find this water source show that even with the diversity of wildlife – four legged or winged, big or small, they all share a common need of water to live...

In school, there was one subject I never enjoyed. I saw the importance of science, math, and, of course, religion, but I hated grammar. What put me over the edge was dissecting sentences. It was complicated with its many lines – horizontal, vertical, and dotted. I was already struggling with parts of speech, and dissecting sentences crossed the line into my firm hatred with grammar. Yet, it turns out that the parts of speech matter. Who would have thought?! To understand the full impact of today’s gospel, we must understand verbs and nouns to best grasp the word “believe.”...

One of the first functions I learned when using a computer was the infamous restart using “Control-Alt-Delete.” Whenever things weren’t going right, “Control-Alt-Delete.” When the computer froze and wouldn’t work, “Control-Alt-Delete.” And when I’d call for help the IT person often would say, “did you try restarting it with… Control-Alt-Delete?”...