Kingdom of Heaven

  • Learning to Feast

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    The Wedding Banquet, the king’s demands, and a kingdom of opportunity a Homily for Proper 23 A  |  Text: Matthew  22:1-14 A Strange Wedding There’s a part of this story that Jesus tells the Pharisees that makes sense to us and a part that doesn’t at all. This is the story of a weird kind of…

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  • Hiding the Kingdom

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    Jesus’s parables are dependent on seeing and understanding Proper 12A  |  Matthew 13:31-33,44-52 The Hiding At the beginning of this chapter, we’re told Jesus is so swarmed by people that He jumps into a boat to teach the crowds surrounding Him on the shore. There so many people He has to put a barrier up; to…

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  • Technicolor Faith

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    a homily for Advent 3A Text: Matthew 11:2-11 From Repent to Doubt When John appeared in the wilderness, a wild man dressed the prophet’s part, we caught a glimpse of his vision for the kingdom of heaven. He preached repentance and preparation: turning away from our pasts and toward a new future, living in a…

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  • Jesus Offends Us

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    John the Baptist is locked in a cell, full of doubt, wondering what the whole Jesus experiment is really all about. He is left questioning everything. What is my role in this? Was I wrong? What he’s really thinking is this: Jesus isn’t the Messiah. This Sunday’s gospel is Matthew 11:2-11, and just in case…

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  • From Division, Unity (full sermon)

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    a Sermon for Proper 29A     Text: Matthew 25:31-46 Now what was that about the goats? I saw a comment online a week or so ago about these gospel readings we’ve had that said something to this effect: What horrible readings for stewardship season! This morning’s gospel, like the last few weeks have been a pretty…

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  • The Bridegroom’s a Jerk; I Sure Hope God Isn’t

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    In this parable, (Matthew 25:1-13) with bridesmaids, waiting for the bridegroom, the easy reading is wrong.  It doesn’t work.  If we see this as being about…The Second Coming or Heaven after death or the perfect example of Christian community… Then God is an idiot. See, the easy reading makes us think two things: We need to prepare for…

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  • The wedding is the red herring

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    a Sermon for Proper 23A Text: Matthew 22:1-14 Give it up for weddings Raise your hand if you like weddings.  All those happy people, the good food, a pervasive spirit of hope.  Everybody dressed in their finest.  The two, whose binding together we gather to support and cheer have never looked so beautiful and powerful. …

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