June 2024 – My Pastoral Ponderings

Posted on June 28, 2024June 27, 2024 by Rev. James E. Laurence

Signs Along the Way: My Sermon on Mark 5:21-43

Jesus said: "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." Mark 5:34 Before Jesus died and rose again, he raised three people from the dead: the widow’s son at Nain, Lazarus, and Jairus’s daughter, the one in today's gospel reading (Mark 5:21-43). To me, this begs the…

Posted on June 1, 2024May 31, 2024 by Rev. James E. Laurence · 3 Comments

The Gift of Sabbath: My Sermon on Deuteronomy 5:12-15 and Mark 2:23-3:6

Jesus said: “The Sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for the Sabbath." Mark 2:27 “Observe the Sabbath day,” we are told in Deuteronomy 5:12, “and keep it holy.” But what does that mean? In today’s gospel reading (Mark 2:23-3:6), we see that Jesus and the Pharisees do not agree about this basic commandment.…