Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 Dear Partner in Preaching, So late in the week, I know (and apologize), so just a few thoughts for those who have been procrastinating. 🙂 “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while” (Mk 6:31) – one of my favorite verses as it offers such a gracious invitation. I can almost imagine Jesus’ voice saying these words and always start to relax the moment I hear or read this verse. And yet… And yet the get no rest. Crowds see where they are going and get there ahead of them. Or, I should say, crowds in need get there ahead of them and Jesus can’t refuse them. Not here, and not a...

John 6:1-21 Dear Partner in Preaching, For the next few weeks, as you undoubtedly know all too well, we are taking a break from Mark’s Gospel and foraying back into John. “Back” because of the amount of time we spent in John’s narrative in Lent and Easter. But now rather than jumping hither and yon through John’s story of Jesus, we’ll immerse ourselves for five weeks in just one chapter. A chapter rife with significance in John’s Gospel and in our own understanding of the sacraments. So rather than wonder how or why the lectionary makes this jump – a constant temptation for me, I must admit! – I’m simply going to suggest...