What is Resurrected Life?

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-14  • Psalm 130  • Romans 8:6-11  • John 11:1-45

From Ezekiel's valley of "dry bones," to St. Paul's testimony of the life giving Spirit which raised Christ, to this week's gospel account in John of the raising of Lazarus, and as Jesus makes his way to Jerusalem and the cross, we learn something of resurrected life. Jesus tells us that he, who is the bread of life and whose blood is the cup of salvation from which all who drink will never thirst again, is "the resurrection and the life, and that all who believe in [him], even though they die, will live."

What is the resurrected life? See "Resurrected Hopes," by Craig Barnes.  Dee also "This Sunday's Reflection" by Sister Kym Harris.

I was blind, but now I see

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:1-13  • Psalm 23  • Ephesians 5:8-14  • John 9:1-41


What is it to see, really see? Thomas Hardy once said “There is a condition worse than blindness, and that is, seeing something that isn't there.”

This week's lesson from the gospel of John is the story of Jesus giving sight to the man who was blind from birth. There is a lot about judgment in this lesson as the Pharisees judge Jesus of healing on the Sabbath, and Jesus’s disciples asking who sinned, the blind man, or his parents in reference to the man’s blind condition. What does Jesus mean when he says, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.?" Why does he tell the Pharisees who said "they see," that they sin, and those who are blind are without sin ? What do we see when we judge? How can we make better judgments? How can we see as God sees?

Compare your thoughts with The Rev. Kate Huey's "Learning to See - Reflections."

Slaking our thirst with Living Water

Scripture: Exodus 17:1-7  • Psalm 95  • Romans 5:1-11  • John 4:5-42

This week we learn how God chooses to connect with us, as Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well, and what He offers. In the middle of the day a Jewish Rabbi converses with  a Samaritan, considered by Jews to be unclean and apostate, and not just a Samaritan, but a woman who had been married five times, and living with another man. Look at the exchange. The woman does not disengage, and she understands more about Jesus than the Pharisee teacher and esteemed Nicodemus, whom we met last week. Jesus deems her worthy enough to reveal to her that he is the Messiah, and she is transformed. Her neighbors recognize this, and trust in her testimony. And look at the intermingling and hospitality which ensues. Something we could certainly use today.

What does Jesus offer? Consider this as you read Sister Kym Harris' Commentary, Exposition, and Reflection.

What is it to be "born again," to believe, to be saved?

Scripture: Genesis 12:1-4a  • Psalm 121  • Romans 4:1-5, 13-17  • John 3:1-17

This second Sunday of Lent we consider Nicodemus' question of Jesus of how he might be saved. Jesus tries to help him see that he is asking the wrong question. It is not "how," but why. Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be "born again," or more accurately from the Greek, "born from above."  What did he mean? Do we have to do anything to be saved? What is it to be saved? What did God do to save us? Why? What is it to believe? What does Jesus mean to be born of the Spirit, the wind which blows where it chooses? How will we hear it? Is Jesus' message one of judgment or grace? In her "Reflections," The Rev. Kate Huey offers us wonderful insights to these questions.

Two Adams, Two Gardens, Two Temptations

 Scripture:  Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7  • Psalm 32  •  Romans 5:12-19  •  Matthew 4:1-11

This Sunday our Scripture is the tales of two Adams, two gardens and temptation. The first Adam in the garden of Eden, and Jesus, the second Adam in the garden of Gethsemane. How were each tempted and what was their response?

For Debie Thomas, Satan's temptation of Christ shows how God chooses restraint in the exercise of power. See "My Flannel Graph Jesus." What does that tell us about God's relationship with us? About how we are to relate to each other?

Sister Kym Harris discusses Jesus' response to Satan's temptation to regard himself first, in his hunger, reminding us of God's provision for us in the true manna, Jesus, the bread of life, and the Word of God.  She also considers Satan's offer of dominion and power to Jesus if he bowed down to Satan. Who or what do we bow down to? See "This Sunday's Exposition."  In "This Sunday's Reflection, Harris tells us that what happens on the edges, and our response to weaknesses of the human condition, reveals much about our nature. Who and what do we trust when we experience the wilderness? What is the wilderness?