Born Again
For Sunday, May 31, 2015 – John 3:1-17 Too often the Pharisees get a bad rap. We imagine them as all the same when, like the rest of us, they come in a variety pack. Legalistic and self-righteous? Sure, sometimes—like me and you on some topic or another—but also hungry for truth, dedicated to seeking after God. One of […]
The Lives We Live
For Sunday, November 23, 2014 – Matthew 25:31-46 We live many lives during this one life. Some of my “lives” are remarkably open and generous; other “lives” anxiously urge me not to trust God’s providence but to store up against the threat of want and refuse to share, even with people whose needs are more immediate. Some of my lives, because they are firmly […]
Stand Up, Stand Up to Jesus
For Sunday, November 16, 2014 – Matthew 25:14-30 Really? ‘Throw him into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth?!’ All because the servant fears the master and has poor investment strategy? What a disturbing conclusion to a complex parable. Who would want to serve a master who ridicules the economic prowess of […]
Having What We Need
For Sunday, November 9, 2014 – Matthew 25:1-13 In recent passages of scripture, I hear Jesus telling the hypocrite parts of me that I don’t always do what I intend; I set a standard for others that I don’t keep myself; I am not as sincere as I want to seem. So when he tells this parable about some folks waiting for a […]
