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Loud
Of what are we afraid? One of the things that strikes me about this week’s reading from Mark (10:46-52) is how much loudness is seen as a problem. The man is shouting and the disciples want him to be quiet. Who among us can’t relate? The person in the checkout line shouting at her kinds,…
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A path to love
For Sunday, the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost Collect Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with…
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Not wealth, grace
When Jesus tells us about the problems with wealth, we get hung up on whether or not he means us. But that isn’t the point. For the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 23B Collect Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good…
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Stumble
It’s about other people There’s a challenging phrase Jesus uses in the gospel of Mark: stumbling block. He tells his followers not to be a stumbling block: the block positioned at someone’s feet that trips them. That causes them to stumble and fall. While it is easy to think Jesus doesn’t want us to get…
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God doesn’t insist I be better
For Sunday – October 3, 2021:the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost Collect Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and…
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Rights
It’s about respecting dignity Some Christians talk a lot about their personal rights. But there are a few reasons many others have a hard time talking about rights. Chief among them: that whole God-at-the-center-of-things thing. And yet, our baptismal covenant directs us into different territory than we’re used to hearing in the media. We pledge…
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Obstacles – A reflection for Proper 21B
For SundayEighteenth Sunday after Pentecost Collect O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,…