The Vineyard of Sour Grapes
Mark Schloneger
The history of Goshen, Indiana, according to Wikipedia: Goshen was platted in 1831. It was named after the Land of Goshen [the place in the Bible that the Egyptian pharaoh of Joseph gave to the Hebrews]. The initial settlers consisted entirely of old stock “Yankee” immigrants, who were descended from the English Puritans who settled […]
Under the Broom Tree
Mark Schloneger
He was tough. He was fierce. And he didn’t suffer fools. He words were not the flowing, flowers of poetry but sharp, stinging slaps to the face. He was Elijah, the Tishbite, from Gilead. And he had received the word of the Lord. Empowered by that word, this man stood alone before royalty, King Ahab, […]
Parable not Prophecy
Missy Kauffman Schrock
I was challenged in the fall of 2017 to preach on this passage from Matthew and believe me, it was a challenge! This parable of the wedding banquet is the last in a series of three parables that Jesus tells following his arrival in Jerusalem and the clearing of the temple courts. The first two […]
The Lord of Hosts
Mark Schloneger
The great trees of Mamre. This is a significant place in the life of Israel. There is a tradition, cited by the ancient Jewish historian Josephus, that the trees of Mamre are as old as the world itself and another tradition that says these trees mark the spot where the Temple would eventually stand. But […]
Good Grief
Joanne Gallardo
I took a brief break from the Lectionary for this week and decided instead to focus on the story of Lazarus. I hesitated doing so, wondering if I was the only one particularly attached to grief lately. However, 2 things happened a few weeks ago as well as this past week. Deb Detweiler was mentioned […]
Between Two Trees
Mark Schloneger
When I was very young, my family lived in a tall, yellow house in rural Ohio. It seemed like our backyard was carved out from the acres of fields that my uncle farmed. I remember our backyard as an endless meadow of green grass, where I played baseball, caught butterflies, escaped bees, and chased down […]
Holy Disrupted
Mark Schloneger
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. When the day of Pentecost was approaching, they were all together in one place. Sitting. Waiting. Waiting for something to happen.
Family Ties that Bind
Joanne Gallardo
Over Memorial Day weekend I spent some time with Mennonite friends at a cabin on Lake Michigan. After the full disclosure about the mice problem and apologizing for no WiFi, I was reminded that “we are all family here.” And so the weekend progressed. Our lives were shared, jokes were made, and we participated in […]
New Creation beyond Resistance
Grant Miller
Our scripture today comes near the end of Revelation. A lot has happened so far. Written to seven churches in what is now Turkey, this letter is an apocalyptic vision of great proportions. There are been beasts and armies, horsemen and plagues. And the whole question is who will win this struggle. Will it be […]
Avant-Garde God
Mark Schloneger
In 1850, one of the most controversial art movements began in France. Those artists who identified with this movement called themselves the avant-garde. In French, avant-garde means, “advanced guard,” and it was originally a military term to describe the leading units of an advancing army. These artists saw themselves in exactly that way, but their […]
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