15 Nov, 2021
So, I’ve read Mark 10:35-45 dozens of times in the course of my career, and I’ve always understood that the disciples didn’t quite get the import of all the Jesus was saying in this passage. But it just hit me this week that they weren’t just a...
08 Nov, 2021
Jesus welcoming the children… it’s typically been seen as a sweet little vignette. A perfect Norman Rockwell-esque portrait of Jesus surrounded by smiling, happy kids. But when we look at it that way we completely miss the radical nature of...
01 Nov, 2021
Today we find ourselves halfway through the Gospel of Mark. We’ve heard Jesus’ teaching, we’ve seen him healing people, quieting storms and feeding thousands. He defies the Pharisees without blinking, and constantly breaks the rules. He is...
26 Oct, 2021
Mark 7:24-37 is one of the least Jesu-like stories I know of. I guess I'm just not used to him being hard-hearted and yet that is exactly what he is toward the Syro-Phoenician woman who begs him to help her daughter. This desperate woman is a...
18 Oct, 2021
At almost every turn in Jesus’ ministry, it seems that the Pharisees are there challenging him. The Jewish sect of the Pharisees were very concerned with following Mosaic law, that is, the 613 laws laid out in the Torah (the first 5 books of...
11 Oct, 2021
Rest... this topic is not my forte. In fact, my motto has pretty much been: I’ll rest when I die. It’s possible that this runs in my family. My brother’s saying every Friday is: Only two more working days until Monday. Having said that, I’ll...
04 Oct, 2021
This week let's look at Mark 6:7-13 in which Jesus sends his disciples out in pairs to preach his message. I especially love Eugene Peterson’s translation in The Message, that said the disciples “preached with joyful urgency that life can be...
28 Sep, 2021
Marcus Borg, in his book The God We Never Knew , reminded us that the purpose of scripture is to "mediate the sacred," to connect us to the Divine. He also said that scripture is to be “lived within.” When we live within scripture we allow it...
20 Sep, 2021
For the next two months, we'll be returning to the traditional lectionary readings from the Gospel of Mark. So, I'd like to begin by placing Mark in a historical context, because the context in which it was written will add color and depth to...
13 Sep, 2021
A story must be told in such a way that it constitutes help in itself. My grandfather was lame. Once they asked him to tell a story about his teacher. And he related how his teacher used to hop and dance while he prayed. My grandfather rose as...