Still Listening

Letters on loss, healing, and the mystery of being alive —
from deep in the woods.

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Author: Peter Woods

  • “My Way” or a “Widow’s Way”? Mark 12:38-44 Ordinary 32B

    Mark 12:38-44 As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long…

  • All the Saints who did not despair. John 11:1-45 All Saints Day

    John 11:1-45 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is…

  • “Could we also regain our vision?” Mark 10:46-52 Ordinary 30B

    “Could we also regain our vision?” Mark 10:46-52 Ordinary 30B

    Mark 10:46-52 They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many…

  • Everyone needs an enemy! Mark 10:35-45 Ordinary 29B

    Mark 10:35-45 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one…

  • Let’s divorce God for causing this suffering! Job 2:1-10 Mark 10 2-16 Ordinary 27B

    Job 1:1 1 There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. Job 2:1-10 One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself…

  • “Here’s looking at you, kid.” Mark 9:30-37 Ordinary 25B

    “Here’s looking at you, kid.” Mark 9:30-37 Ordinary 25B

    Mark 9:30-37 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But…

  • Is your martyrdom also discipleship? Mark 8:27-38 Ordinary 24b

    Mark 8:27-38 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that…

  • Open your ears before you speak – Ordinary 23 B

    Mark 7:24-37 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down…

  • A Cleansing Ritual for Preachers

    Mark 7:1-23 7Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. 3(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the…

  • “The Lullaby Gospel” John 6:56-69 Ordinary 21B

    John 6:56-69 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your…