John 14:1-14 Dear Partner in Preaching, Tucked into the middle of the passage from John appointed for this 5th Sunday of Easter – yes, it really is Easter even though the RCL has dragged us back to Maundy Thursday in the narrative – tucked into to the middle of this passage are some of the most memorable, even iconic verses from the Fourth Gospel: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” “In my Father’s house there are many rooms.” “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” And “If in my name you ask for anything, I will do it.” Each of these could be a sermon in and of itself, often wrestling with some of...

John 20:19-31 Dear Partner in Preaching, My apologies for the lateness of this post. This week totally got away from me! So I’ll keep it short. Two brief ideas that perhaps fall together and complement each other. Thought # 1: What an assortment of people and emotions in the two upper-room gatherings John narrates! There are folks who deserted Jesus, denied him, watched him die at a distance, and at least one up close. There are folks who saw the empty tomb, one believed (though what he believed, exactly, we don’t know) and one was confused by what he witnessed. Fear abounds, and doors are for that reason locked fast. After Jesus appears...

John 14:1-14 Dear Partner in Preaching, The first line of this familiar passage is so out of kilter with the rest of the passage that it’s almost comical. But if so, it is a poignant, ironic, almost sorrowful humor. Jesus, after all, is preparing his disciples, his friends, for his departure. He knows this will be incredibly challenging for them and so begins with words intended to bring comfort – “do not let your hearts be troubled” – but that seem to fall short of the mark. The disciples’ hearts are troubled, very troubled. And so they ask questions. Have you ever noticed that? That when we are struggling to make sense of...

John 20:19-31 Dear Partner in Preaching, Have you ever noticed how long it takes John to get around to telling us what he’s up to? John the Fourth Evangelist, that is. Twenty-some chapters and finally he comes clean. Sort of. So here’s what I mean. There are two elements of this week’s very familiar story – one of the few in Scripture that is read in each cycle of our lectionary – that grabbed my attention. The first is what I’d call the culmination and climax of the “plot dynamic” of John; that is, how John arranges the scenes of the story he tells together and to what end. In short, after introducing us to Jesus...

Dear Partner in Preaching, The story of Thomas has always been one of my favorites. Of course, it’s not just a story about Thomas. It’s also a story about frightened disciples. So scared, in fact, that, they hid behind locked doors. And who can blame them? They had just witnessed the one they confessed to be the Messiah betrayed by one of his own, tried and convicted by both religious and civil authorities, and then brutally executed. Little wonder they were afraid, assuming that the next step would be to round up Jesus’ followers. But when Jesus comes on the scene, their fear falls away and is replaced by joy. This, I think, is the...