If you knew that the prayers you offered up today would be among your last, what would you pray for?  Wouldn’t you focus on your highest priorities and most heartfelt desires – for yourself, for those dear to you?  That’s what Jesus did.  Our gospel passage today is part the last major prayer Jesus offered before his arrest and crucifixion.  He had just spent three years in intense ministry with his disciples.  Thousands of people had heard his message and seen and experienced his miracles.  By his death, he would […]

I’m not sure how many of you still carry change with you.  I just keep some quarters in my car in case I need one for a parking meter.  I took one of those quarters and have it here; I’m sure you’re all familiar with it.  If you have one with you, I invite you to take it out and look at it.  On the front, you will notice an image of George Washington, the first president of our great country.  And, what’s on the back of the coin?  Now, […]

I don’t know about you, but I frequently feel a heaviness in my heart these days as I reflect on so many events that unfold around us.  We’ve just passed the terrible milestone of 1 million deaths known to be caused by COVID-19 in our country; the number is in the millions around the world.  We’re all gripped by the ongoing war in Ukraine, where unknown thousands have been killed.  And just yesterday, our nation was rocked, once again, by a mass shooting, one more time in an elementary school […]

Everyone is familiar with the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  This well-known dictum has ancient roots, perhaps dating back to an Egyptian morality play written in 1800BC, and clearly seen in the Book of Leviticus, written about 450 years before Christ.  In fact, some version of the Golden Rule is found in all of the major world religions and in most philosophies.  In Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, we see it mentioned as the fulfillment of the law and the prophets.  It’s […]