John 3:13-17 You knew it, too, of course, the reference above. Oh yes, we know it by heart, those of us who have followed this path of faith. Indeed, we know it so well I expect that we hardly pause to take in its import much of the time. But stand still in this with me …
Category: Lectionary
“Go and Point Out the Fault When the Two of You are Alone….”
Matthew 18:15-20 I think I probably have these words memorized — I’ve taught them so many times in various congregational contexts. What Jesus offers here is an antidote to most any problem in most any congregation, work-place, family, neighborhood. And while certainly not a ‘quick fix,’ it all boils to talking to one another instead …
Taking Up My Cross and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Matthew 16:21-28 Truthfully, I was not sure at first just how these actually fit together: this business of taking up our cross and going after Jesus and pouring a bucket of ice water on your head. What I did recognize in myself is that as more and more people I knew were posting videos on Facebook …
The Rock of Forgiveness: Binding and Loosing
Matthew 16:13-20 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth, will be loosed in heaven.” I have always heard this piece of Matthew as being about forgiveness. Indeed, while a vast majority of those who follow …
A Mother’s Cry
Matthew 15:21-28 “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David, my daughter is tormented by a demon.” Now I know that you all know this. Mental illness carries all kinds of stigma today. I have known this since I was a child and we experienced it in our own family. Back then it was something …
Walking on Water
Matthew 14:22-33 I have survived some storms, of course. I know you have as well. I’ve weathered the sort of storms that inevitably come with living and I’ve watched the other kinds of storms roll in as well. The sort the disciples find themselves in the midst of in this week’s Gospel lesson. It was …
On Loaves and Fishes and Parking Spaces…
Matthew 14:13-21 It’s such a familiar story before us now that it’s hard to hear anything new in it. Indeed, it rolls around with slight variations again and again. Even so, while for the most part these are not ‘original’ thoughts on this story, these are what come to mind today… One is this. I …
The Kingdom of Heaven is Like Yeast…
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 There are so many images of the Kingdom of Heaven in this week’s Gospel reading that it’s hard to know where to begin. We are reminded of its similarity to a mustard seed, to the yeast that leavens a family’s bread, to hidden treasure, to fine pearls, and to a net cast into …
Wheat and Weeds and Birthday Calls
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 I am a terrible gardener. It could be that I just don’t care about it enough. Or that I have simply not taken the time to develop the skill. Or maybe I’m just never going to be good at it, because you see I often have a hard time telling the difference between …
The Sower Went Out to Sow
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 I gave blood the other day. As I was laying on the cot with a needle in my arm, I tried to get acquainted with the young woman who was tending me. First I asked how long she had been doing this. “Three years,” she replied. Then I asked where she had …