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Today we make a stop at Ephesus in our geographical pilgrimage through certain N.T cities. I've never been to Ephesus myself, and yet, I feel I know it in a sense.... NOT the modern city, of course--- It's a thriving metropolis of some inhabitants--- I DON’T KNOW CONTEMPORARY EPHESUS, but the old city, the New Testament city, the city Paul knew and lived in nearly 3 years...

In some ways it must have been a devastating disappointment. After all he’d been through, and now so close, not even to be allowed to go in.

The first Sunday after Epiphany is what today is in the Church calendar. If you didn’t know that don’t worry about it. I only throw it out because there may be a liturgical purist here somewhere, and I want that person to know that I know it. Traditionally, the theme for this Sunday is the baptism of Jesus. That event, down by the riverside, marks the beginning of His three-year formal ministry.

In the first place, I’m not sure “play” is exactly the right word. You can see the title---THE NEED FOR PLAY. I’m not sure “play” is quite the word I want. Maybe a better word would be humor, or laughter, or “joke” even, or comedy. Dante, after all, called his masterpiece “The Divine Comedy”, didn’t he, by which he meant, I think, the opposite of tragedy, so there’s good precedent for that. Maybe comedy would be the better word.

As a background for this brief meditation---I wish there were more time to expand on it---I would like to read the Old TESTAMENT lectionary reading for this Transfiguration Sunday....Transfiguration Sunday....the day Jesus glowed with a supernatural radiance... always comes the Sunday before Lent begins.... the solemn season of Lent is bracketed by the glory of Transfiguration and the glory of Easter.

The theme for today is IDENTITY...and Jeremiah’s contribution to helping us find it. Do you know who you are.... who you really are? That’s what we’re talking about this morning. It was just a little squib in the paper.

It may just be that the hardest thing in the world to do is WAIT....To HAVE to do so, doesn’t set well with us, does it? We’re not made that way, we Americans. We’re not inclined that way... we’re activists, doers, producers, movers and shakers...This is how we’re constituted. We’re people who solve problems by rolling up our sleeves, by tackling issues, by getting in there and stirring things up....

It’s a long passage, I know, much longer Scripture reading than usual. The incident in its entirety takes up almost the whole chapter. John must have considered it important part of his story, or else he wouldn’t have given it such prominence, wouldn’t have spent so much time on it. The conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well is the longest recorded conversation between Jesus and anybody in the entire New Testament.

Two down and 2 to go in this series. Today is the 4th Sunday of Advent, and next Sunday is Christmas Day. We’re looking this year at the Incarnation as seen through the eyes and pens of those who first wrote about it.

During the Advent season this year, we’re taking a look, I hope you’ll remember, at the birth of Jesus through the eyes of the people who first wrote about it.

Quo Vadis? It’s a strange title for a sermon, I must admit...not even English. Before the Latin aficionados in the congregation get hold of me, let me say quickly I know the phrase originally referred to Jesus, and the verb is second person, singular....present indicative. In the original it was supposedly what Simon Peter asked the Lord when the Risen Christ appeared to Him outside of Rome that day....

I’ve always been fascinated by hearing Charles Laughton read the Bible. Some of you are too young, of course, to remember Charles Laughton....the eminent English actor...“Mutiny on the Bounty”, that sort of thing.... “Come here, Mr. Christian...”

We haven’t done right by her, we Protestants. We really haven’t. We haven’t treated her fairly. As a matter of fact, we haven’t done much with her at all. We’ve never claimed her as one of our own.

One of the most touching and unforgettable scenes in the whole passion narrative is the scene that unfolds in the Upper Room. You remember the story---It was a Thursday, the last evening, as it turned out, before Jesus’ death.

Two stories, if I may, to begin our consideration of HOPE. Great Words of Lent and Life is the theme for this special season of the Church year.....great words of the New Testament that are so rich and vibrant when we take them out and polish them up....

The place to begin, I think, is precisely where we left off last time. A couple of weeks have elapsed, I know, since we began this series. I hope the interim hasn’t destroyed the continuity completely. Do you remember the theme? The bulletin is a good place to look for a clue....

First, he waggled a stubby finger in my face, and then he looked at me, hard, like he really meant business.

January 3, 1988 “O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come....” We sang it just a moment ago, one of the great hymns of Isaac Watts. If you remember your mythology, you will recall the Old Roman god, Janus...J-A-N-U-S. He was known as the god of the door. The first month of our year, of course, is named for him, the month of January. When the Romans depicted him, they always gave him two faces.... With one he l

It’s still too early in Advent for us to sing Christmas carols, I suppose. Technically, carols should be sung only during the season of Christmas, after the birth, as a witness to the birth.

Once upon a time, long ago and far away, indeed, in another epoch entirely, now shrouded in the mists of blessed forgetfulness, I served for a while as a District Superintendent.