John 17:6-19 Dear Partner in Preaching, Just two observations on this complex portion of what we often call “the High Priestly Prayer” when Jesus’ intercedes on behalf of his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion. Both are prompted by the repetition of key words. The first is “world” (kosmos). According to John’s Jesus, the world is not a friendly place. It has rejected Jesus, it poses threats to Jesus’ disciples, and it is something that occasions Jesus’ request that God protect the disciples from it. Although some of John’s theology feels a bit gnostic in its portrayal of a remarkably dispassionate Jesus, I...

Dear Partner in Preaching, I want to propose a radical idea: on this Holy Trinity Sunday, don’t preach on the Trinity. Don’t even mention…it, him, her, they (proper pronoun, please?) Why? Because it’s a doctrine. Because it’s a confusing doctrine. Because doctrine itself is meant to be a way of understanding and describing our experience of the living God, but perhaps as much as or even more than any other doctrine, the doctrine of the Trinity has ended up not describing an experience, but substituting for one. For many of our folks – and who knows, maybe for us – it is little more than a formula – “In the name of the...

John 15:9-17 Dear Partner in Preaching, “As the Father has loved me,…” Last week the phrase that guided my reflections was “as I abide in you,” reminding us that it’s Jesus’ promise to abide in us, love us, and hold onto us that makes abiding in him and loving others possible. This week the phrase that has helped me – only and finally on Saturday morning! – find an angle into this portion of the Farewell Discourses is, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.” Sometimes I wonder if it’s the preachers job, above all else, to help people imagine God differently. Imagine, not just think about. What I mean is...

John 3:14-21 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Dear Partner in Preaching, We have before us this Sunday one of the most – perhaps the most – iconic verses in Scripture: John 3:16. Similar to approaching the Christmas Eve gospel, the question inevitably becomes, “How do I preach this in a fresh way?” or even, “Is there anything new I can possibly say?” Perhaps one way to approach this question is to not preach on it directly, allowing some of the surrounding verses to take center stage for a change. Or, more importantly, perhaps by...

John 3:1-17 Dear Partner in Preaching, There’s a lot going on in today’s reading from John’s Gospel. And I mean A LOT! This passage, filled with images both familiar and odd, can be a lot to take in. St. Augustine chose an eagle to represent St. John because he felt the theology of the Fourth Evangelist soared so high above the other gospels, but sometimes it reaches heights that can be hard for many of us – both in the pulpit and in the pew – to follow. My guess is that amid the imagery of water and Spirit and the serpent lifted up in the wilderness and all the rest, our hearers’ attention will be drawn to two places in...