Katie Munnik

Love Talk

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Lectionary reading is a funny discipline. Sometimes on Monday morning, it feels like it’s all about one verse. The others verses circle to provide context, but one verse demands attention. But today, it’s two whole stories, see-sawing back and forth, and I’m finding the balance in the middle.

Easter Monday Revisited

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Last week, my dad bought an Easter lily. We’ve been visiting my parents in Ottawa and the kids were quite taken with the idea of the lily when it arrived in the house. It came in all wrapped up in white paper and with purple cellophane inside. But when we took the wrapping off, there weren’t any flowers to see. Just green leaves and four or five big fat buds, but everything was green and, as Beangirl pointed out, it didn’t smell right. I told her it would – just not yet. We’d have to wait.

Holy Week

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I’m not sure if they heard it mentioned at church or if I slipped it into the conversation, but the kids are wondering about Holy Week. Not the stories – they have those down pat. But the terminology. I heard them discussing it the other day and they are a little confused. They seem to think that “holy” means “ancient.” Long ago and far away and all that jazz. Which makes Holy Week into History Week or something.

If anyone asks…

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Jesus was used to questions by now. If anyone asks… He sounds like a parent here – assuming that there is going to be a question and trying to solve it before trouble rears its head. The story ends with him responding to the Pharisees, as if their demand was a question, though it palpably wasn’t.

Celebrate and Rejoice

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This story has within it all the great father and son stories, and all the tales of brothers. It is Aegeus waiting on the cliffs for Theseus, it is the birthright battles of brothers Jacob and Esau, it is the love of Jacob for Joseph, it’s Daedalus and Icarus and a father’s fateful providing. And yet, it is more.

Rich Food for Lent

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Maybe it’s just my greedy, foody nature, but I love the language here. Isaiah sings to my soul in this passage. This is a prophet for me. I hear this call to an attitude of abundance away from the perspective of poverty. Instead of being bound by want, and worried about cost, we’re called here to enjoy and see that there is plenty

Proud Jerusalem and Christ’s Wings

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This is one of those passages that makes for an excellent children’s story. I must confess, I do like getting a chance to share my chicken impression with a congregation. Not every day, eh? But it’s memorable as a message, too. Jesus subverting gender stereotypes and comparing himself to a nurturing mother. Jesus stretching out his arms to lovingly gather us in. And memorable, too, the glimpse of Palm Sunday ahead.

A Week Ahead

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The week ahead is an interesting one. Pancake Tuesday. Ash Wednesday. Valentine’s Day. NiteKirk on Friday night. And a week off school for my kids. This morning opens with a family peanut butter factory at the other end of the table. It’s one of those February days when you can believe that spring in coming. The light is gentle and the sky finally open.