06 Dec, 2021
In Isaiah 61, Isaiah proclaims that he has been anointed by Yahweh to bring good news to the poor, to heal broken hearts and to proclaim a year of God’s favor. Isaiah spoke these words to the exiled people of Israel living in Babylon, promising...
29 Nov, 2021
Let me begin by saying that this parable of the wise and foolish wedding attendants and their oil (Matthew 25:1-13) is not one of my favorites. In fact, the scholars from the Jesus Seminar lean toward this not being an authentic Jesus parable,...
22 Nov, 2021
Nan Merrill’s translation of Psalm 100: 4 invites us to “Open the gates of your heart with gratitude and enter Love’s court with praise.” Open the gates of your heart with gratitude… I took this to mean that the act of being grateful is what...
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...