“I must have misheard”, Hazel thought to herself. “God clearly doesn’t want me to become a pastor.”

After the last couple of days, I feel like I have an idea of what it is like to wait. Mostly impatiently. After the last 8 months, I feel like I have an idea of what it is like to wait. In the beginning extremely impatiently.

We are so wired to decode every parable in the same way. King or authority equals God. Son equals Jesus. Banquets are basically figures of speech for communion. The disciples are the good people, the Pharisees the bad. End of story.

There is a limit to everything. Too much is too much.

A wolf’s rule according to a poster at the Oakland Zoo is: “Talk more, fight less.” It basically summarizes today’s Gospel. Sounds easy.

So much has happened since March. It seems like the world stopped turning and speeded up all at once.

“Who am I to you?” That’s the kind of question calling for trouble. We all know that. It’s the perfect indication that something is wrong. “Who am I to you?” will almost always end in a conflict that will reveal some truths.

Naomi is the mother of a beautiful daughter. The girl suffers daily, and nobody knows what it is. Why she can’t just be like all the other kids?

Jesus tells us a parable. And that’s usually great for me as a preacher. Well, this one time it’s different.

They considered Jesus to be “a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinner.” Because he ate and drank like regular people do. And that’s highly suspicious for the Son of Man, right?

Today, I want to tell you the story of Noah. Not the old Noah who survived in a boat with animals. Another Noah who survived a big flood in his life.

It’s awful. It feels like it will never end. It changes how you behave completely. It defines who you interact with and who you are afraid of. It is always on your mind. It defines your reality.

The very first Easter-morning was very quiet. Nothing indicated that this would be a turning point in history or even a glorious day. It did not feel like Easter.

In times like these, I need to have some good laughs before going to bed.

Reality just tricked us. No palm leaves today. We didn’t meet at Carlson Hall. We didn’t process in with the Processional Gospel. There are lots of “NO”s these days.