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Bear fruit worthy of repentance
When we talk about repentance, do we also rejoice? Why do we so struggle with being changed by God, turned and shaped, being loved? The focus is not on what needs to change, but to let yourself be changed Advent 3C | Luke 3:7-18 John is not holding back! Whew! I don’t want to be…
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Love Rising
In Mark 10:46-52, Jesus is interrupted on his journey to Jerusalem. But this final moment embodies the discipleship journey itself. In Bartimaeus, we have the true disciple and a vision of hope Proper 25B | Mark 10:46-52 If we just cracked open our Bibles to this passage in Mark, I think we’d be excused if…
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Jesus Keeps Walking
After Jesus makes his third passion prediction, his followers still don’t understand what it means to follow Jesus. And most of us don’t either. For Jesus, it isn’t just confronting power — it’s rejecting glory. Proper 24B | Mark 10:35-45 A few weeks ago, when we hosted our neighbors for our annual big blow-out communion…
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What God Intends
In Mark 7, Jesus responds to a challenge over rule-breaking by exposing their hypocrisy. Is this just a takedown, or is he saying something else? The challenge of following Jesus isn’t doing or believing. It’s both. Proper 17B | Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 We have to go back nearly two months. Back in June, we…
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Jesus is not Superman
The lectionary cuts up the story in Mark 6:30-34, 53-56, resting on the image of Jesus as a super shepherd. But Jesus isn’t offering comfort only. Mark’s gospel and its conviction to follow, not worship. Proper 11B | Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 We gathered in an antiphonal circle in the chapel to read the first part…
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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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The Art of Love
In overturning the tables in the temple and reimagining Sabbath law, Jesus invites us into a new relationship to our work. Not as adherents and citizens, but as artists and co-creators. Jesus invites us to be artists collaborating in a global masterpiece Lent 3B | John 2:13-22 This church may have a lot of doors…
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We must start with love
We hear all these other things about who we are and what we’re supposed to be, but there is one place we all must start: Love beyond ourselves. Of all things, we must start with love. It is our hermeneutic, our fundamental. Our North Star and compass. Love is the start and our predictor. Most…