Exodus 24:12-18
Matthew 17:1-9
“It is good…” Peter says when he sees the face of Jesus change before his very eyes. It shone like the sun; his clothes began to dazzle, bright white. People appear out of thin air and start talking to Jesus, and Peter says, “It is good.” I’m not so sure I would have gone to “good” first, personally. I think I would have jumped straight to the fear the disciples moved to when the voice of God spoke on the mountaintop, but Peter knew it was good. Continue reading
I am going to break the rule of one of the most influential people in my life. Maria von Trapp, at least as played by Julie Andrews, sings, “Let’s start at the very beginning,” but 
today I am not. In fact, I’m going to start at the very end, because if you’re anything like me, when I heard the end, I couldn’t even go back to the beginning to think about what it said. “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Perfect. Riiiiiight. Perfection is impossible. Or at least perfection achieved by human beings is certainly impossible. If we know anything to be true, it is this, that we are imperfect creatures. From the very beginning of creation, in our relationships with God and with others, even in our relationships with ourselves, we experience on a daily basis our complete imperfection. So why does Jesus say this? Is he challenging us so that we’ll achieve some level of goodness, even if it’s not perfection? Or is he just setting us up for failure? Continue reading
This weekend marks the sixth anniversary of the revolution in Egypt that ended the presidency of Hosni Mubarak. I was reminded of this revolution as I pondered our text from Deuteronomy – another story of people who were freed from an oppressive ruler in Egypt. I remember watching the revolution unfold on social media. Sites like Facebook and Twitter were the major modes of communication and organization for those who were 
trying to make their voices heard. From my own home I could read in real time the passion that was driving people to what turned out to be an unstoppable revolution.
Once the people of Egypt were free from an oppressive ruler they stood on the cusp, on the edge of a new day, a new life. After a few days of expressive celebrations the time came to move forward and begin the rocky process of building what would come next. One reporter for NPR related how the people she had interviewed were wondering now, not so much with fear, but with eager anticipation, just where this revolution had really taken them. Continue reading
For Some Reason 