Drew Downs
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Those Who Followed Were Afraid
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6 min read
The disciples have been following Jesus for a long time. They covered their home area, down to the Jordan, back up to Caesarea Philippi and now they are heading to Jerusalem. But then Jesus started to get weird. He started talking about death. His death. He started talking about what is to come and I’ve…
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With Unveiled Faces
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5 min read
Paul is not an anti-Semite. I think we should start there. When Paul argues that Moses put a veil over his face and all who hear him read are veiled: this should not be read as anti-semitic. Paul was Jewish. It is more like differentiation. While the other apostles were trying to figure out how…
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They Could Not Drink the Water
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6 min read
The Exodus story is a story of liberation. It is the the foundational story of the Hebrew people. It is also a troubling story of incompetence, arrogance and stupidity. A stubborn Pharaoh who, despite all the mounting evidence that the Hebrews are being protected, continues to press on. In other words, Pharaoh doubles down on what…
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Stumbling Block
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6 min read
We are all pretty obsessed with sin. Whether or not we believe that’s true, we are. Sin inspires us. It inspires us to believe remarkable things about GOD and nature and all of creation. For some that it is all depraved and drenched in showers of evil. For some, it is to see creation through…
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Afraid to Ask
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5 min read
Afraid to Ask (Day 29 of A Simple Lent) | Monday I grew up in the rise of standardized testing to creative and artsy parents who read a lot. It means I can be either a model student or a pain in the butt, depending on your teaching style. A good student too busy trying…
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New Life
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8 min read
Here Jesus comes and that woman, Mary, who I imagined hitting Jesus’s chest in anger and mourning, whose brother has been brought back from the dead, this Mary, takes a pound of ointment, which is brought in a giant vessel and she is going to wash Jesus’s feet and prepare him for his burial. Mary…