Matthew 5:1-12 It is but a few short verses before this in Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus encapsulates his message in one urgent phrase: “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near!” (Matthew 4:17) Indeed, with that as a backdrop, I find myself wondering if the start of his sermon here is actually a road …
Tag: Matthew
Following Jesus: That For Which We Are Made
Matthew 4:12-23 It caught my attention a few days back — a news clip featuring Steve Harvey standing in the lobby at Trump Tower. Apparently he had been invited by both transition teams to a conversation with the President Elect and Ben Carson, nominee for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. They want him to …
Bruised Reeds and Dimly Burning Wicks
Isaiah 42:1-9 Matthew 3:13-17 It is so that I do not remember many sermons — not even my own. Among such a handful, though, is one I listened to more than thirty years ago. I was in my first year of seminary. Daily chapel was held then in an old gymnasium where students and faculty …
Joseph’s Dream
Matthew 1:18-25 I was young then, in my first year of seminary. That year we were assigned to teaching parishes where we would get our first taste of pastoral ministry…just a little preaching, teaching, and visiting. It was mine to call upon an older couple in the congregation who, after, treating me to cookies and …
Abounding in Hope
Isaiah 11:1-10 Romans 15:4-13 Matthew 3:1-12 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:4-13) I’ve had reason to think some about ‘hope’ in these last couple of days: both the kind we live …
Telling Time…
Matthew 24:36-44 Romans 13:11-14 Some years ago now I accompanied a group of soon to be high school freshmen to Confirmation Camp at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Years before we had learned the hard way the necessity of reserving their personal cell phone usage for free time once a day. Otherwise they would …
The Face of Christ
Matthew 25:31-46 I know the images offered in today’s Gospel lesson speak of a final judgment where ‘goats’ and ‘sheep’ are separated one from another. I know this. And yet I find it most helpful to hear this as encouragement even now to see and experience and respond to this world in new ways. Indeed, I hear …
The Fearful Slave
Matthew 25:14-30 Jesus offers us a rich image today — literally. For as we hear about the example of the master taking off and leaving three slaves in charge, we hear that he leaves them with more wealth to tend than you and I can probably imagine. For the talents spoken of here are not …
The Foolish Bridesmaids
Matthew 25:1-13 The story I offer now is an old one. It comes to mind today because the ending is the same as the one in the story Jesus tells today. The door was closed on me. I was in the 3rd grade. Our class room was on the second floor. There were two entries …
It All Belongs to God… All of It
Matthew 22:15-22 I had cause a few days ago to remember that it all belongs to God. All of it. Which is what I think this particular conversation between Jesus and his verbal sparring partners points us to. This is how this came to be. I had agreed to be interviewed for a research project …