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This Tuesday of Holy Week
Jesus’s confrontation at the Temple challenges us to see past their questions of authority, but the reason for the questioning. Jesus ducks their questions because they are questioning the authority of God. On Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem in a parody of authority. And after the crowds died down, he took a quick look inside…
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This Monday of Holy Week 2018
It’s the day after the great entrance. Palm Sunday was yesterday. Jesus seems to change before our eyes. But he doesn’t. It’s our stunning inactivity which gets called out at the beginning of Holy Week. We all know this story. It often goes by the strange name: the cleansing of the Temple. But it doesn’t…
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Where do we come in?
The challenge of Palm Sunday is fighting the impulse to skip ahead. But we’re invited not only into a bittersweet day but a whole week which challenges how we see the hope of Christ in our lives. We arrive at Jerusalem with Jesus expecting hope and fear Palm Sunday B | John 12:12-16 Where do…
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The Scandal of Holy Week
The challenge of keeping Holy Week is that there’s way more than we can fit into a couple of days. But we’re not doing ourselves any favors by not even trying. I grew up with Holy Week. As a life-long Episcopalian, Holy Week was a natural part of my upbringing. Just as all the seasons…
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White Nationalism and the Limits of Free Speech
White nationalism wants you to treat it like an honest ideology. It wants you to debate it, honor it, privilege it. But it isn’t yet another source of water flowing into the well, it’s poison. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece on white nationalism. Specifically, I wrote about the challenge in responding…
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Who They Can’t Forgive
This moment in John 12:20-33 is the tipping point. Time’s up. Make your decision. And Jesus is surrounded by people who don’t understand that forgiveness is everything. Even after resurrection, we refuse to forgive what we don’t understand. Lent 5B | John 12:20-33 There’s a scene before this one. Before these Greeks come looking for…
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Our Guns, Our Idols – preventing the peace
I had this neighbor a few years ago. He made it really clear where he stands about guns. And about what he thinks about everything I value. Years ago, we moved to a small town in Michigan. A bit under 6,000 people and up against the big water. Water to the east, other communities to…
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Praying in the Dark
In Nicodemus, we find a stand-in for us. He’s confused, frightened, and showing up at the wrong time. And yet he’s responding to an invitation when he least expects it to do something amazing. How our searching in the dark helps bring the light to us. Lent 4B | John 3:14-21 You’ve probably heard the…
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