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Magnifying God
There’s a way we turn Mary into a stock character for the plot rather than the key to understanding who Jesus is supposed to be for us. How Mary helps us better see what God is doing Advent 4B | Luke 1:26-38 This morning I remind you that it isn’t yet Christmas! The sun has…
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The Last Jedi – The Age of the Force
‘The Last Jedi’ is both a radical departure and totally orthodox Star Wars movie. And if we’re honest with ourselves, it reveals what we always wanted. [There are Spoilers. Of course. But mild. So proceed with caution.] When I was 5, I wanted to be a Jedi. Jeff was Luke Skywalker for Halloween that year…
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Rethink the Gospel for Advent 4B – Who is Mary?
Advent 4B | Luke 1:26-38 Who is Mary? This time of year, everybody’s talking about her. Countless pieces are written, diagnosing her history and declaring her purpose. Many are bent on defending her virginity and others exposing her age. And much like the priests and Levites last week, we’re all trying to figure out how…
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Standing Among Us
John the Baptist returns for Advent 3B (John 1:6-8,19-28). But do we handicap the truth by expecting honesty in response to a dishonest question? Advent 3B | John 1:6-8,19-28 Who are you? This is the question the priests and Levites were sent to ask. Sent. By whom? The Pharisees. So why are the Pharisees sending the…
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Rethink the Gospel for Advent 3B – Who are you?
Advent 3B | John 1:6-8,19-28 Two weeks in a row, the preacher gets to deal with John the Baptizer. And some of the elements sound repetitive. The quote from Isaiah, the preaching and preparing of the way, for instance. It is a subtle switch from Mark to John. And yet, while we might have the…
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Repentance–Turning Toward Love
In preaching repentance, John reveals the surprising truth about the mission of Jesus. That we are first called to admit that we were wrong. Advent 2B | Mark 1:1-8 Reading the opening verses of Mark, we’re often struck by what’s not there. There’s no Mary and Joseph. No trip to Bethlehem, to David’s city. We…
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A Better Lord’s Prayer
Is it time to change the Lord’s Prayer? “Do not let me fall into temptation because it is I who fall, it is not God who throws me into temptation and then sees how I fell,” – Pope Francis I For many Christians, the ubiquity of the Lord’s Prayer is everything. Because of that, I…
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The Purpose of Punishment
We want punishment to communicate what it can’t. It’s bad at telling us what not to do and fails to tell us what to do. Punishment isn’t the point. The purpose of punishment is to communicate our intolerance of certain behaviors. It is not about feeling good exorcising our demons stealing the dignity of others…
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