WDJA (What Did Jesus Ask?) I: Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

2024 Fall

September 8, 2024 • William A. Evertsberg • Matthew 6:25–34

We know worry can kill us.

Worry makes you older. Literally. Worry raises your blood pressure and beats up on your heart. Worry makes you depressed. If you have arthritis or diabetes, worry makes them worse. I get a cold every January 1. Like clockwork. It’s because the stress of the holiday suppressed my immune system. I would be a lot healthier if I would just chill out.

So we know Jesus is right. The trouble is, it’s impossible to follow his advice. You can’t force your brain to stop worrying by an act of will. Bobby McFerrin’s advice—“Don’t worry; be happy”—is the most useless suggestion in history.

Still, we’ve got to try. We’ve got to stop thinking that the future depends completely on us. Someone said that worrying is akin to atheism. It’s pretending that a benevolent, capable deity hasn’t got a handle on our lives, the world, and the future. I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you see his point.

Who will not leave the 99 to find the one?

September 22, 2024

WDJA (What Did Jesus Ask?) II: Why do you trouble this woman?

September 15, 2024 • William A. Evertsberg • Mark 14:3–9

We don’t know who she is. Mark doesn’t describe her. He doesn’t even name her. She is one of the hundreds of unnamed but important characters in the biblical narrative. You see what she is doing, right? She is saying goodbye. She seems to be the only character in all four Gospels who knows what’s coming, and how short Jesus’ life will turn out to be—three more days. She is the only one who gets it. Sometimes words are not enough when it’s time to say goodbye, yes? You need your touch. You need your eyes to express the truth of your heart. You need the unspoken memories of a lifetime of shared experience. You need your tears. You might even need some laughter. You need the fragrance of perfume.

V: At The Creek by David Romtvedt

September 1, 2024 • Christine V. Hides • Mark 6:30–33

Today’s scripture is just a snippet from Mark chapter 6, a couple sentences of introduction to the feeding of five thousand. Jesus has been traveling all around Galilee, calling disciples, healing people, and offending his hometown on a visit to the synagogue. By this chapter he has already taught six of the nine parables in Mark’s Gospel. Patches, wineskins, lamps, and seeds are the tangible, ordinary objects Jesus used to describe the indescribable life with God. Life with God is a present possibility even in anxious times. The verses just before this reading recall the death of Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist, who was beheaded by Herod; a stark reminder that Jesus’ life is set in the context of the violent and oppressive first century Roman Empire. This little bit of text is sandwiched between a funeral and a miraculous feast.