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Jesus the Snake
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5 min read
An alternative homily for Lent 4B | John 3:14-21 It is an odd place to begin the story: with the snake. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. The lectionary cuts off the…
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Not Afraid of the Dark
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8 min read
Banishing the fear that shrouds the light of Christ Lent 4B | John 3:14-21 In the Dark of Night When we pulled up to the bus stop this week in the inky-blue of morning, we found ourselves at the back of the line. A small handful of 3rd or 4th graders rule the stop and…
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The Tie or the Collar
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1 min read
You have a preference. Everyone does. You want your pastor or priest to look a certain way. You know other people have a preference, too. Their preference may match yours. It may not. You know the pastor or priest has her preference. Hopefully you care what that is. The question is not so much whether…
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For Proclaiming the Gospel, Context is Everything
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5 min read
Between the Lectionary and the world, we’re getting hit with fireballs: the kind of truth that burns and purifies, leaving us naked and lost. I know I wasn’t the only one on Sunday, talking about Jesus in the Temple. A story often referred to as a “cleansing” of the Temple, but more to the point,…
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Tearing Down the Temple
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8 min read
Jesus’s call for the end of faith as we know it Now, Jesus isn’t pushing us toward a churchless faith, a religionless spirituality, or independent devotion. Jesus doesn’t attack the institution because it is an institution but because the leadership of the existing institution is corrupt. Because how they understand scripture is corrupt. Because the…
Make a New Normal
