Drew Downs
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Now Hear This! (9/25/17)
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3 min read
I listen to podcasts. If you don’t, then yes, you’re missing out. They are a brilliantly simple medium. A sound file pushed out into the world to be heard. I listen to fiction, news, religion, and creativity shows and each one makes a commute shorter and dishes easier to do. Each an opportunity to listen…
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Generous and Just
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8 min read
Jesus’s parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) doesn’t seem fair. But that’s because we don’t want it to be. Proper 20A | Matthew 20:1-16 For those who have not heard this gospel story before, or hardly recognize it, you can probably tell right away it is one of the most hated parables…
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How doubt makes faith better
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9 min read
My autobiography is littered with the debris of doubt. It’s like doubt comes in uninvited and then leaves a trail of its presence, like unwashed sheets, stained coffee mugs, and the TV set to a channel I never watch. Everywhere there’s a piece of it, unescapable. I could also say My life is filled with…
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Too Heavy – mercy and the spirit-crushing weight of debt
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11 min read
If the debt doesn’t kill you… Proper 19A | Matthew 18:21-35 Remember the stumbling blocks? It’s been Jesus’s main subject in the last several weeks of gospel readings. As they head north, Jesus warns of those things which get in our way, trip us up, and keep us from doing what needs to be done.…
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I didn’t make you punch me
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2 min read
I didn’t provoke your violence by advocating tolerance. I DIDN’T MAKE YOU PUNCH ME We both said things. We can agree on that. I want to say We both said things we regret but I’m not sure you do. I feel the regret, at least. Not only for what I said but the rage ripping…
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Removing Our Stumbling Blocks
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8 min read
In Matthew 17 and 18, Jesus reveals the way stumbling blocks get in the way of God’s mission. Including our obsessions with rules and borders. Proper 18A | Matthew 18:15-20 A few years ago, a celebrity pastor got in trouble. He was the darling of the new reformed movement for his high doctrine, aggressive style,…