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Between Proper 27 + 28 (Year A)
Preparing for this week’s sermon begins, not with talk of talents, but of usury—and why Jesus seems to encourage us all to sin.
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The Dark Parables
Late in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells several parables that are dark and deceptive. I’m sure he’s doing this on purpose. It’s a test.
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Why we struggle with the parable of the bridesmaids
Do we give ourselves permission to read this parable with grace and honesty? Do we even realize what we’re reading and why?
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After the Violence—for Proper 27A
We usually read the parable of the bridesmaids as a teaching about preparedness. But it is a chilling challenge to selfish comforts.
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Between Proper 25 + 27 (Year A)
This week’s gospel comes to us as a final exam—not a random teaching. That context, in the last days, is central to our understanding of it.
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Blessed with new sight
In both gospels for this week, we are invited to see things differently—about our world, the people around us, and how it all works.
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Beacons of Blessed Hope—for All Saints Day
In the Beatitudes, we are offered a vision of hope that is certainly unconventional, but it is purposeful. Blessing is for our common thriving.
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Blessed—and our eternal struggle with worth
The concept of blessing, as we’ve inherited it, has conflicting understandings. In changing our own focus, we change our approach.