Another Way

Rooke Chapel Congregation
4.14.19
Luke 19: 29-44

Rick Szuecs vos, https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/april-web-only/jonathan-merritt-palm-sunday-gift-disillusionment.html?fbclid=IwAR0pztfrMFUPxAszQTQJ6I6Nlxluavy5y5auxBHdB9F-wfQ5RV9SayF9h8s

Some of you, like me,
Probably went to a church that read the Passion narrative on Palm Sunday.
[indeed, that might be the tradition here]
As Maundy Thursday and Good Friday become less popular,
It’s important to take time,
To mark and honor the story of Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and death.
So we’ve stuck it on the Sunday before easter.
That Jesus died,
Is rather important to the story.
And reading that story together,
Reading ourselves into that story
d shouting “crucify him!”
Is certainly meaningful.

But I want us to linger here, this morning.
On the so-called “triumphal entry.”
Because it has much for us.
Surrounded as we are,
By empire and evil and injustice.
Which mostly just wants us to give up,
To despair.
This morning wave our little palms and say, simply,
We’re part of a different story,
And eager to see it unfold and participate in its telling.
We are headed another way.

There were really two processions into Jerusalem that day, Continue reading “Another Way”

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday Ecumenical Service, March 6, 2019
Rooke Chapel, Bucknell University. Kurt Nelson

It’s quite rare,
in a position such as mine,
to speak from a place of certainty.

No doubt you can call to mind,
those unfortunate few religious leaders,
who speak nothing but certainty,
even when it’s clear to the rest of us,
that they’ve little wisdom to impart.

But in actuality, mine is a profession of humility,
of mystery,
and of wondering.
Rife with big questions,
with few easy answers.

But, new as I am to this community,
I’ve come to two conclusions for today,
about which I’m fairly confident. Continue reading “Ash Wednesday”