Three-in-One Plus One   Dear Partner in Preaching, Imagine with me for a moment, the delight you would experience in discovering that you had a long lost uncle or aunt who had made you the heir to their estate. Can you see it? You’d wake up one morning and discover that they had left you riches beyond count, that your major financial worries were over, and that you really didn’t have to worry all that much about the future. If that scenario happened, how would you feel? What would you do? Or, more to the point, what would you do differently? And here I don’t mean what would you run out and buy – though I suspect that most of us...

Dear Partner in Preaching, I’ve written three or four introductions to this letter now, and none seems quite adequate, so I’ll just come out and say it: I think we’ve misnamed the Holy Spirit. The word Jesus uses in John’s Gospel, as you know, is Paraclete, which we sometimes translate as “Advocate” and often translate as “Comforter.” It’s this second name in particular I’m calling into question, as I just don’t think it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to make us feel better. Yes, I know, it’s not that simple. The Holy Spirit as Comforter eases our distress, encourages us, and comes to us in times of trouble to remind us...

Dear Partner in Preaching, As if often the case, context is everything in biblical interpretation. And the context of this passage – Thursday evening, the eve of Jesus’ crucifixion and departure from his disciples – matters because it helps set the scene for Jesus’ words of promise to his disciples tucked into a prayer he offers to his heavenly Father. There are three parts to this prayer and promise, each of which holds, I believe, import for our hearers today. 1) The world can be a difficult place. This perhaps doesn’t seem like much of a promise, or at least good news. But it’s the truth, and given how many voices in our...

Dear Partner in Preaching, Serious question: Did Jefferson miss the boat? Thomas Jefferson, that is. And I should admit right up front that I am a huge Jefferson fan. But as much as I like the poetic cadence of the Declaration of Independence’s inalienable rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” I’ve always wondered if Jefferson unintentionally set us on the wrong direction from the start. (And – just to be clear – this isn’t the usual Christian comparison between happiness and joy, with the inevitable triumph of lasting joy over fleeting happiness. Maybe there’s something to that comparison, but I think...

Dear Partner in Preaching, Anyone else feeling rather pruned of late? Don’t get me wrong. I lead a blessed life with a wonderful family and job and friends, for all of which I am profoundly grateful. And yet… And yet there was another devastating earthquake, this time in Nepal, with so many dead and so many more left in dire circumstances. And we just passed the one-anniversary of the kidnapping of all those school girls in Nigeria by Boko Haram. And the 2016 – yes, 2016! – election campaign is already beginning and negative statements and ads are already flowing. And I heard from several friends recently who are dealing with pretty...

Dear Partner in Preaching, I have, as you likely have, preached more sermons on the tenth chapter of John than almost any other (except perhaps the story of Thomas!), as we read portions of it each year on “Good Shepherd” Sunday. That, I know, can make preaching this text challenging, as we wonder what new element might speak to us and our congregations. But every once in a while, something completely new jumps out of a familiar passage, grabs your attention, and makes you wonder why you hadn’t noticed it before. And that’s what happened this week. It may or may not be what focuses your work, but I offer it in the confidence that you...