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November 2007 |
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| November 4, 2007 - 31st Ordinary - "Hand-Me-Downs" - Luke 19.1-10 - Rev. Jonathan E. Carroll, Th.M. - " The word that Scripture often uses to denote what we mean by
“tradition” is paradidomai; it understands the value in things that
have been “handed down” from one generation to another. Indeed,
Scripture itself has been “traditioned” to us by our
grandparents-in-faith, and we would do well to remember the storied
history that each of these texts bear. In today’s hand-me-down, we
stand in the tall tradition of a story about one whom Luke calls “a
short man.” Hear again Luke’s telling about Zacchaeus." |
| November 11, 2007 - 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - "Work, For I Am With You" - Haggai 1:15b-2:9 - "About 3:30
pm this past Tuesday, I found the noise
to be pretty unbearable. As best as I
could figure, two or three men were moving across the top of my office like
grain harvesters across a field. Except,
they weren’t gathering wheat. No, they
were efficiently and loudly stripping the roof of its old shingles – getting
things down to a clean, bare working surface.
You might be able to imagine the sounds:
scraping and prying, ripping and pounding. Outside my window, the remnants of their
labors fell like huge pieces of ash. I
was not enjoying it ..." |
| November 18, 2007 - 33rd Ordinary - "What Are You About?" - Luke 21.5-19 - Rev. Jonathan E. Carroll, Th.M., First Presbyterian Church ~ Owensboro, KY - " The ”Little Apocalypse.” That is how biblical scholars often refer to
these words of Jesus that speak of wars and rumors of wars and
insurrections, nation rising against nation, earthquakes, famines,
droughts, “great signs from heaven.” “Apocalypse:” revelation by
definition—an unveiling, a disclosure. In the language game that is
played by people in both faith and in culture, the word connotes the
“end of time.” Some amount of tribulation (or, suffering) would be
implied, if not stated outright. Apocalypse now. The rapture. The
Battle of Armageddon. Nuclear War. Someone being “left behind.” The end
of life as we know it. Mass confusion. People missing. Mass
destruction. Entire empires on fire. Mass graves. Death everywhere. The
day after. “Apocalypse;” whether wide-mouthed preachers bearing
hellfire and brimstone, or film directors looking for a plot with which
to use the latest special effects, or authors of fiction who are
looking for the next bestseller. Apocalypse is good for all that." |
| November 25, 2007 - Christ the King Sunday - "Christ the King" - Luke 1; Colossians 1 - Rev. Jonathan E. Carroll, Th.M. - "Have you been to a tea party lately? The kind where you sit on those
really small and uncomfortable chairs with your knees in your face? If
you have, then you were probably given a role to play; a prince or a
queen or maybe even a wicked step-sister. Of course, the tea is not
imported from China or India, but who cares about that, the time spent
together will be worth it, after all. If you haven’t been to such a
party in a while, maybe you..." |
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