An Image for the Kingdom
Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father, and our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, Amen. “With what can we compare the kingdom of God? What parable shall we use for it?” What images come first to your mind when you think about God’s kingdom? In this weekend’s first reading from Ezekiel we get an image of a great cedar which God raises up from a sprig on top of a mountain. Cedars grow nearly 130 feet tall, (to give you a common everyday frame of reference, that’s about six and a half T-rexes tall.) these are huge majestic trees with birds that nest in their tall lofty branches. It’s a big deal, and God puts one on top of a mountain. Shall we use that image for the kingdom of God? But why stop with only six and a half T-rexes? This is GOD’S...
Read MoreNicodemus and Do, do!
Grace be unto you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Today’s Gospel lesson reminds me of the “Who’s on First?” sketch by Abbot and Costello. There are two people who seem to be talking about the same thing, they are even using the same words, but they still entirely misunderstand each other time and again as the conversation goes on. Words are slippery. When I say “I had chicken pot pie for dinner” I’m thinking something surrounded completely by pie crust with a creamy-chicken and carrot filling. But here in Berk’s county chicken pot pie means something completely different. When Abbot says “Who is on first” he means it as a statement, but Costello hears it as the same question he just asked: “Who’s on first?” And today in our Gospel,...
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