John 6:24-35 I find myself tagging along with the crowd today… wondering at what compelled them to keep after Jesus. Oh, Jesus says, and he is probably right, that they are persistent in their pursuit of him because of the free lunch they had just enjoyed. And this rings true, of course, because most of …
All These Broken Pieces: Twelve Baskets Full
John 6:1-21 This time through this familiar story, I find that I am really caught by Jesus telling the disciples to ‘gather up the fragments’ after so many had been fed with a boy’s lunch. Indeed, my imagination deepens when I look more closely at the translation, realizing that these ‘fragments’ are also often described …
Seeing With the Eyes of Jesus: Like Sheep Without a Shepherd
Psalm 23 Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 I only have glimpses of what it is to see as Jesus did — harried as I often am even as those disciples must have been “with many coming and going and no leisure even to eat.” It is far too occasional that I am able to look at the …
The Beheading of John: Why Is This Story Even Told?
Mark 6:14-29 This has been a dark place to ‘live’ this week, with the fateful, gruesome end of John before us now. In fact, I have found myself wondering why Mark and Matthew chose to include this story at all, with all of its awful detail. Perhaps it is simply to ‘close the loop’ on …
Sending of The Twelve: “Nothing” for the Journey
Mark 6:1-13 I have paused in this portion of Mark’s Gospel or Luke’s parallel countless times by now. In fact, this has been the case so many times that by now nothing much surprises me — except for the ways in which it comes alive just outside my door from time to time: I was …
Twelve Years: Pointing to the Fullness of God
Mark 5:21-43 There is so much richness in the stories before us now. There is courage and fear, despair and hope. There is power and generosity and joy in the healing we witness. And there is, as always, our wonderment at all of its meaning for us. I found myself returning again and again to …
In the Storm: Who Is This One?
Mark 4:35-41 I cannot help but believe that all of us have experienced something of ‘storms’ in these last many months in a way perhaps we never did before. And no, not only the sort of midwestern squall which passed through here the other day, bringing much needed rain to the drought which is already …
The Wonders of God All Around Us
When you open this, I will just be returning from a Civil Rights Tour I am helping lead, so I will not have the space to offer something new this week. It is that time of year when where I live you can see evidence of Jesus’ words all around us. Indeed, last summer in …
Redefining Family Revisited…
I had a full week-end celebrating a beloved nephew’s wedding and now am getting ready to head out of town on a Civil Rights Tour which I am helping lead. Below you will find my thoughts from several years ago on this challenging text. God bless you as you ponder Jesus’ words for us this …
As With Nicodemus, So Also With You: God Is Not Done Yet
John 3:1-17 I thought this week I would spend my time elsewhere, but Nicodemus drew me in once more. Oh, I have been wrestling with Nicodemus and his nighttime encounter with Jesus for as long as I can remember. (Go ahead and search John 3:1-17 on this blog and you will get a sampling of …