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Acts 16:9-15
Easter 6C
How did the Holy Spirit prevent Paul and company from entering into the regions of Asia, as Acts 16 narrates this for us? Yes, Luke (our narrator) makes clear that the Spirit “prevented” them from going in the direction they were minded to go, but I wonder just how that all worked out. Should we…
Acts 11:1-18
Easter 5C
Luke is hands-down one of the best writers ever used by the Holy Spirit to compose a portion of Scripture. His narratives in the first two chapters of his Gospel alone prove as much. Other examples of narrative wizardry abound in Luke and Acts. So it is a bit odd in Acts 11 to encounter…
Acts 9:36-43
Easter 4C
Call her “Tabitha” or call her “Dorcas” the meaning in both Aramaic and Greek was the same: “Gazelle.” Was it her given name or a nickname that matched her lifestyle? We don’t know but by all appearances the woman best known as Dorcas was gazelle-like indeed. She was lightning fast at helping the poor and…
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
Easter 3C
Acts 9 is one of those stories that has proven to have a pretty wide reach. Mention the phrases “Damascus road experience” or “scales falling from your eyes” to most anyone—even to people who are not regular churchgoers—and they’ll know what you mean for the most part. And to the minds of some of those…
Acts 5:27-32
Easter 2C
Oh how I wish the Lectionary had extended this lection to include the words of Gamaliel that follow. Because there this key leader of the Sanhedrin says something that is at once utterly sensible and miraculously prescient. Once Peter makes it clear that they cannot be frightened into silence by the likes of the Sanhedrin,…
Acts 10:34-43
Easter Sunday
Comments, Observations, and Questions When you are a devout person who wants nothing more than to serve God, then there are few shocks to the system quite as great as spiritual shocks. Just ask the apostle Peter. He knows all about this kind of thing. Because unlike some of our religious customs and taboos today—the…
Acts 8:14-17
Epiphany 1C
Familiarity may, as the old cliche goes, breed contempt. But sometimes it also breeds a kind of blindness. I’ve written a sermon commentary on Acts 8:14-17. I’ve preached on it multiple times. My familiarity with it hasn’t yet dimmed my fascination with one of the Scriptures’ most mysterious and intriguing stories. However, my relative familiarity…
Acts 2:2-21
Pentecost B
Arguably it is harder to write a fresh sermon on Pentecost than on Christmas or Easter. Those last two major events in redemptive history are proclaimed in multiple Biblical texts, so there are different angles to take on Christmas and Easter. Pentecost, on the other hand, is reported in only one text, our text for…
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Easter 7B
If I were to preach on this passage, my sermon would be entitled, “And Then There Were Twelve.” Here’s why. To begin with, I was a bit surprised by the RCL’s choice for today. We’ve been following the progress of the Gospel out into the world, following Jesus directions/prophecy in Acts 1:8. And given that…
Acts 10:44-48
Easter 6B
We are swiftly coming to the end of the Lectionary’s celebration of the mighty acts of God in Christ. Ordinary Time is nearly upon us. But first we commemorate Christ’s Ascension next Sunday and Pentecost the Sunday after that. Today our focus is on what many scholars call “The Gentile Pentecost.” Our text is one…
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