Drew Downs
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Betrayal & Desertion
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4 min read
The writer of Mark doesn’t condemn Judas. Not like the others. They need Judas to kill himself or bear the brunt of a Godly vengeance: the scapegoat for his betrayal. Like a true villain, more heinous than Pilate (they can’t wait to get him off the hook), more vile than the leadership Jesus spent three…
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Wicked Tenants
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7 min read
I despise this parable. I always have. Hate, violence, and murder. Images of incarceration and indentured servitude. These are indeed wicked tenants. But I’m not sure the vineyard owner isn’t a little bit wicked too. The fence, the watchtower, the going away and letting them fend for themselves. I find the parable deeply troubling. And this…
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A Den of Robbers
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4 min read
I don’t think Jesus cleanses the temple in this morning’s reading. It often goes by that name. But if cleaning is what he’s doing, it is in the full understanding that it will be dirty again the next day. What is cleaning, but wiping away the dirt, scrubbing the scum off of the tub or the grease…
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Jesus’s Love Revolution
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8 min read
Superman isn’t swooping in. The heavens aren’t opening and the army of angels are not going to ride in here in front of you and slaughter all of our enemies. The Triumphal Entry and the incarnating of GOD’s dream Palm Sunday C | Luke 19:28-40 As most of you know, our tradition, beginning in the…