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When Evil Wins
I never could wrap my head around “Good Friday”. Bad Friday made more sense. These days, Evil Friday speaks to me even more. There is nothing good about the crucifixion. Save your fancy atonement theories for another day. And don’t get antsy and start talking about a resurrection. Get your butt back here and sit…
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Betrayal & Desertion
The writer of Mark doesn’t condemn Judas. Not like the others. They need Judas to kill himself or bear the brunt of a Godly vengeance: the scapegoat for his betrayal. Like a true villain, more heinous than Pilate (they can’t wait to get him off the hook), more vile than the leadership Jesus spent three…
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Wicked Tenants
I despise this parable. I always have. Hate, violence, and murder. Images of incarceration and indentured servitude. These are indeed wicked tenants. But I’m not sure the vineyard owner isn’t a little bit wicked too. The fence, the watchtower, the going away and letting them fend for themselves. I find the parable deeply troubling. And this…
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By What Authority?
Who authorized Jesus to teach? We shouldn’t forget that the chief priests and the scribes (in other words the Temple leadership) ask Jesus a pretty fair question: ‘By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?’ They didn’t authorize this. They don’t know him. Who is Jesus to…
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A Den of Robbers
I don’t think Jesus cleanses the temple in this morning’s reading. It often goes by that name. But if cleaning is what he’s doing, it is in the full understanding that it will be dirty again the next day. What is cleaning, but wiping away the dirt, scrubbing the scum off of the tub or the grease…
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He Sprang Up
The story of Bartimaeus is easily one of my favorites. It is part healing, part witnessing, and for the gospel writer, the last thing Jesus does before coming to Jerusalem. As a writer, this is prime real estate. While everyone is looking “above the fold” and for the big headline at the top of the…
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Those Who Followed Were Afraid
The disciples have been following Jesus for a long time. They covered their home area, down to the Jordan, back up to Caesarea Philippi and now they are heading to Jerusalem. But then Jesus started to get weird. He started talking about death. His death. He started talking about what is to come and I’ve…
