Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 Matthew 21:23-32 “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?”” So begins this little slice of the prophet Ezekiel which will be read where many of us worship this year on the first …
Understanding Jonah…
Jonah 3:10-4:11 It is so that I have come to this reflection late this week. In large part this is because I found myself unexpectedly spending more time in hospital waiting rooms than I ever could have anticipated when the week first began. It is also so that my own preaching this next week will …
Forgiving “Seventy-Seven” Times…
Matthew 18:21-35 It had been too long — far too long — since I last dragged the carpet cleaner out of the basement, filled it with soap and hot water, and ran it over the high traffic area in my hallway and living room. In fact, as I sit down to write this tonight I …
“Go and Point Out the Fault When the Two of You Are Alone…”
Matthew 18:15-20 It’s an old story, this one, but one I return to again whenever I hear Jesus’ words of instruction to his disciples now. For it is an example of a time when it happened in a way that his wisdom for us was intended. This is how it was. I was a young …
Taking Up My Cross … Hearing This Invitation Like it is the First Time
Matthew 16:21-28 I surely cannot count the number of times I have preached on the words of Jesus words before us now — both as we hear them in Matthew and also in Mark’s Gospel. Given that this is so, why is it that now it is as though I am hearing them for the …
The Keys of the Kingdom: Opening Doors and the Gift of God that Heals
Matthew 16:13-20 It was more than a decade ago now — the day the moving truck came and unloaded almost everything I owned at the home that is still mine. My mother had driven over to help direct the movers, ensuring, at least, that boxes and furniture got deposited in the right rooms. It had …
Holy Surprise: Great Faith and the Canaanite Woman
Matthew 15: (10-20) 21-28 I can’t help but wonder if there is a more challenging Gospel reading than the one before us now. Indeed, is there a more unpleasant picture of Jesus than this one where his words compare a Canaanite woman and her tormented daughter to ‘dogs?’ If there is, I certainly cannot think …
Getting Out Of The Boat
Matthew 14:22-33 No doubt about it, the disciples are in trouble by the time we catch up to them in this piece of Matthew’s Gospel. While Jesus has been praying alone on that mountain they have found themselves on the Sea of Galilee in a boat that is ‘battered by the waves, far from the …
More Than Enough: Twelve Baskets Full
Matthew 14:13-21 Whenever Jesus starts feeding people — or for that matter, anywhere people are fed in the Bible — we always hear a story of abundance, of unexpected gifts, of needs being met to satisfaction, even if it’s not fancy. This is, of course, the case in Matthew’s Gospel as it is in the …
A One Sentence Parable which Opens up the World
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 I am working these days on a stewardship program for fall. “Bread” is mentioned countless times in the Bible and since I am a long time baker of bread, thoughts for such a series have been tugging at the edges of my imagination for some time. Coincidentally, this week I have been …