Getting a call late on Saturday afternoon to preach, I was relieved to remember that today we celebrate the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. It is a sweet story and one I need to hear. Though I don’t know about you, I expect you, as I do, feel the need of a story of hope and optimism, of promise and completion.
Peter was given a choice – a choice to do something different, a choice to follow and perhaps to help create a different way, a choice to go on an adventure that could change him and even change the world. Jesus gave Peter his first and only chance to go into the regions beyond.
Several centuries ago, people on the island of Yap had a problem. They wanted to transform their barter economy into a money economy. But there was no gold or silver or any of the usual stuff of money to be found where they lived…
I ran into a theological quandary right before Christmas. It was about my niece, Jolene, perfect and pink and bald as ever at 14 months old. My sister, her mom, who like the rest of my family is disinterested at best in religion, texted me out of the blue with a question: did I think Jolene ought to be baptized?