Tag: Joseph

  • All This Has Happened To Me!

    All This Has Happened To Me!

    All This Has Happened To Me! (Day 14 of A Simple Lent) The Jacob saga in Genesis is fascinating to me. Here is the grandson of Abraham, the blessed, receiver of the covenant, and he is a world-class jerk. Selfish. Thieving. Conniving. Not what you would think of as godly in any way. And certainly…

  • Trembling to One Another

    Trembling to One Another

    Trembling to One Another (Day 13 of A Simple Lent) People are funny. Sometimes “funny ha-ha”. Usually just “funny strange”. Either way, I laugh. There’s something telling in the Joseph story for today – about these brothers who go down to Egypt to get food to bring home to their father (Jacob) and they encounter…

  • He Said / She Said

    He Said / She Said

    He Said / She Said (Day 8 of A Simple Lent) I’m not really sure if I’m supposed to like Joseph. His Dad, Jacob, was a jerk. He was a liar and a thief, who seemed to take advantage of the blessing of GOD. And even after wrestling with his creator on the banks of the…

  • Writing Our Future

    a Sermon for Christmas 2AText: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 A Troubling History A few years ago, Diana Butler Bass wrote a book called A People’s History of Christianity. Like other “People’s Histories,” it is a history told, not from the perspective of the victors, but of the vanquished: in this case, it is the people, whose…

  • Giving Away Too Much Power?

      Pharaoh gives away his power to a man that was locked in his dungeon. Seems like a stupid move. I’m no leadership guru, but that seems like a pretty bad idea. In our weekly Bible study at St. Paul’s, we’ve been taking our time, as we walk through Genesis, one chapter per week. Last…

  • Don’t Be Afraid. I Really Do Mean It!

    Text: Luke 1:26-38 In this morning’s gospel, we have what should seem absolutely crazy.  It doesn’t for two reasons: 1) its very familiar and 2) the virgin birth has been an ideological litmus test for fundamentalists as something to intellectually believe with deep-rooted conviction.  Rather than treating this like we do the rest of the…