Faith in Progress

September 22, 2019 Luke 16:1-13 This summer the drive to the beach was hideous.  It usually is on summer Saturdays, but this was the worst I’d seen.  The crawl of cars wasn’t only before the Bay Bridge but all through the little confusing webs of roads on the other side too.  I probably had five times where the little lines on my GPS were so red for so long that the nice British lady inside decided it was time to rethink the whole thing.  The screen would freeze for a minute then shift a bit and the lady would say “Recalculating.” And then she would find me some slightly less painful way to go forward.   Finally, after a much longer drive than anyone was prepared for, we got to the beach and unpacked the car.  Finally it was time to head to the beach and forget the last five hours. Finally I would get to ensconce myself on my chair under the umbrella as the kids frolicked in the waves.  Finally I would get to lose myself in a great novel, one of my favorite things about the s

Sept 1, 2019 Jeremiah 2:4-13 Jeremiah, from our Old Testament reading today, is a grumpy prophet.  And he’s earned it. Jeremiah had a long career of warning and cajoling and accusing people who had no interest in listening to him.  During his lifetime, he was opposed, belittled, ignored, and hated by pretty much everyone. Priests and kings conspired to kill him, more interested in pursuit of wealth and power than heeding Jeremiah’s plea to turn their hearts to God.   Well, in today’s reading, Jeremiah is at it again. He sounds like a lawyer, indicting the people on God’s behalf for breaking their covenant with God.  God has been gracious and saved them over and over. But the people have defaulted on their promises to God.  They have forsaken God and turned to other Gods. They have chosen what is worthless instead of what is life-giving.  And so Jeremiah accuses them; and not just the people of his generation, but their ancestors as well. But the piece that strikes