Posted in Church Year on May 31st, 2009
Last Sunday, I helped in my son’s Godly Play class. Because the kids worship in church with us on Pentecost, Julia, the worship leader, told the Pentecost story: how the wind roared in the upper room and flames as of fire rested on each of the disciples, how they went into the city and proclaimed [...]
Posted in Church Year on May 24th, 2009
Ascension—the day we commemorate Jesus’ returning to Heaven—was on Thursday, though many churches will celebrate it today. The lectionary passages for Ascension focus on royal imagery—God the king (Ps 47), Christ the king (Eph 1)—and on the stories from Luke and Acts of Jesus commissioning the Apostles.
Before he leaves them, Jesus opens their minds [...]
Posted in Church Year on May 17th, 2009
This week’s Gospel passage continues Jesus’ discourse on the vine and the branches, which I wrote about last week. In her comment on that post, Catherine wisely pointed out the importance of receiving God’s love. Inherent in this image of abiding, of being a branch grafted to a vine, is the notion of receptivity. The [...]