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The scandalous character of ministry
The Lectionary did us no favors by jumping into Luke at chapter 7, skipping what I think are the two most important chapters in the whole gospel in 5 and 6. Smack in between the calling of disciples and the Sermon on the Plain is one of my favorite moments of Jesus’s. It is striking…
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Peter Jumps Into the Water
This week’s gospel from John 21 deals with nudity, miraculous fishing, and redefining love. It is a jam-packed resurrection appearance that only could be delivered by that incredible gospel we call John. One part sticks out for me this week. And it obviously deals with Peter. So the disciples are fishing. They are hanging out.…
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Being the Millstone Church (Eating Scripture)
Eating Mark 9:38-50 Last week, Jesus foretold His death for the second time. And the for the second time, the disciples don’t get it. No surprise there. For me, this was always a given. From the first time I really heard Peter get rejected by Jesus for getting out of line to the first conscious recognition…
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Get Busy Dying
a Homily for Proper 20B Text: Mark 9:30-37 Location, location, location Three times Jesus foretells his death in the gospel we attribute to Mark. Three times. In chapters 8, 9, and 10. Each one has a similar impact: Jesus’s teaching is misheard, misunderstood, and ignored by the disciples. Last week, we had the first of…
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It Is Not About You! (Eating Scripture)
This week, we dive into Mark 9:30-37, the second time Jesus foretells his death…and the second time the disciples step in it. Don’t worry; third time’s a charm. In this second bite at the apple, the disciples are shamed by the fact that they are being complete idiots when Jesus makes his second declaration. They are arguing…
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Dude, Stop Being Satan! (Eating Scripture)
In this week’s piece, we explore the nature of Mark 8:27-38, the story with that great line: “get behind me, Satan!” Ouch! Peter got burned! The big thing about this story is that it is that turning point. The point where everything really does change because its game day. Yesterday was practice, today we play. If we dwell…
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What the Crowd Tells Us
In Sunday’s gospel (Mark 3:20-35), we get several different ways of addressing what Jesus means by family. In this video, I give my pitch for the crowd.