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  Wednesday – 7 th Week of Easter Gospel – John 17:11-19 The Big Picture! Heiskell Hills Springtime here in the Smoky Mountains is absolutely amazing – a riot of color and life; the trees just burst forth with foliage.   It reminds me of Sound of Music – the hills are alive,,,, And it’s such a contrast with autumn and winter when the leaves fall and the trees are starkly bare.   But even then, something magical happens.   All of a sudden, we see all these homes and buildings across the hills, all of them hidden from view in the spring.   They were there all the time; you just couldn’t see them for the trees! You can’t see the forest for the trees!   You’re missing the BIG picture!   We have all heard it before, probably from our parents!   Sometimes we get so caught up in the minutiae and the details that we miss the overall point!   Don’t get me wrong; the details are important!   But we also need to reach some understanding wi...
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  Tuesday 7 th Week of Easter Gospel: John 17:1-11 The Hour Has Come UT Graduation 2026 This past Sunday our grandson Tyler graduated from University of Tennessee, Magna cum Laude!!   After 4 years of study, exams, projects and internships, the ‘hour’ had finally come!   A chance to celebrate his accomplishments!   An opportunity to celebrate as a family and look forward to a bright future!   YUP!   I am one happy PaPa!!   We are all one proud family!!   And what an ‘hour’ it was!!!! “ The hour is coming ”!   It’s a phrase Jesus uses quite a number of times throughout the Gospels. Even at the Feast at Cana when Mary wants Him to do something about the wine shortage, He tells her that His hour has not yet come. Today things change!   Today He prays to His Father “ the hour has come !”    In a matter of hours, He will be arrested, tortured and put to death.   Jesus’ hour has come, the time to glorify God His Father,...
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  Monday - 7 th Week of Easter Gospel – John 16:29-33 Hope and Courage Church of Peter Primacy, Sea of Galilee By now, I think we are all just a bit afraid to turn on the news or open the newspaper, worried that we will be faced with more bad news – the war in Iran, rising gas and grocery prices, another political scandal or senseless violence and death. “I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”  Today’s Gospel offers all of us words of hope and comfort.   Jesus is sharing His final words with His disciples, His friends.   He knows what is to come.   In a matter of hours, He faces suffering and death.   And yet His focus is completely on the Apostles!   And He reminds them that, even when they are scattered, they are not alone; they never will be!   He will continue to guide them, encourage them and inspire them!   Whatever hardships ...