One of my first jobs was working for my grandmother (this was certainly not a formal job, but it paid very well).
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As a perfectionist, I want everything that I do to turn out just right!
I can’t say I’ve done that with a crowd, I think Jesus had a special skill for this.
Life gets overwhelming, doesn’t it? What’s for dinner? The kids need lunch money! When is football practice? I need to call dad back. We need to plan a date night. The hot water heater needs to be drained…
During the season of Epiphany, we reflect on the revealed nature of God’s love and light in the world.
There’s something profoundly comforting about the idea that God never stops working on our behalf.
God’s love is relentless and personal. Through the prophet Isaiah, God speaks with a love so deep it feels like a parent’s heart: “You are mine.”
We find deep echoes with our own sense of exile in modern times, whether it be exiled from our own soul in the mire of personal loss and pain at this time of year, or the exile and disconnection of our communal soul in a national time of divisive change and uncertainty.
The apostles at Jerusalem heard something extraordinary: Samaria had embraced the word of God. Without hesitation, they sent Peter and John to pray for them, laying hands on them so they might receive the Holy Spirit.
Imagine the scene: crowds gathered, the waters of the Jordan River rippling with expectation.