Break Open the Word

  The Fifth Sunday of Easter, 2 May 2021 Acts 8:26-40 Psalm 22:24-30 I John 4:7-21 St. John 15:1-8   The Collect   Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.     Background: Eunuchs   Eunuchs were known throughout the ancient world, and well into the modern world. Some were neutered to diminish their influence with higher ups, to render them less of threat in the harem, or to give them that child-like voice that was so beloved in the Baroque era. In the political sense, these men were seen as more trustworthy, not bound by family ties. In ancient Greece, the eunuch was not always the function of the removal of organs but could be one wh...

  The Fourth Sunday of Easter, 25 April 2021   Acts 4:5-12 Psalm 23 1 John 3:16-24 John 10:11-18   The Collect   O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.     Background: Cornerstone   The readings and traditions that surround this particular Sunday, Good Shepherd Sunday, would have me comment on the office and particularities of being a shepherd. It is, however, the last part of the reading from Acts that grabs my attention this day,  “it has become the cornerstone.”  The use of stone is known from ancient times, and the why of that gives new meaning, to me at least, about what Peter is trying to say about Jesus in his teaching in Jerusalem.   I had always thought that the import of a cornerstone was the support that was...

  The Second Sunday of Easter,  11  April    20 21     Acts 4:32-35 Psalm 133 I John 20:19-31 St. John 20:19-31     Collect:   Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.     Background: Doubt   The richness of the Gospel for today will be diminished by people’s proclivity to focus on Thomas and his doubt, while the powerful themes of being recreated in the Spirit  (he breathed on them)  and the giving of the ministry of forgiveness and confrontation will be set aside. Let’s take some time and talk about the doubt, however. I shall deal with the other nuggets in the Gospel in comments on it, below....