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Of Faith and Justice
a homily for Proper 24C Text: Luke 18:1-8 This parable contains two characters: a widow and a judge. We aren’t given the circumstances that bring this woman before a judge, but we are given enough clues. Or really, the only two clues that are necessary: that she is a widow and that she is seeking…
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Climbing Higher
a homily for Proper 26C Text: Luke 19:1-10 It so often feels that gospels about money are tricky during Stewardship Season like this. We already hate to talk about money. Bringing up economics in a homily is a tricky enough proposition during the rest of the year. It sometimes feels as if the preacher is…
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Bridging the Gap
a homily for Proper 21C Text: Luke 16:19-31 Picturing the People Listen again to the opening sentences of this parable. Hear it. Close your eyes and take it in. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay…
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The Challenge of the Coin
There is nothing worse than recommending someone not come to your church. It pains me to say it, then and now. A young seeker, looking to reconnect with church wanted to talk. We knew each other from previous work, so it was a different kind of awkward. It wasn’t the usual talking-to-strangers kind. She was…
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You’re so not vain enough – you don’t think this story is about you
The “lost” parables reveal a strange truth about Jesus and a blind spot for many Christians. For as much as we want Jesus to treat everyone the same, He doesn’t. And in the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus contrasts the sinners with the righteous. He argues that the sinner who is redeemed brings GOD…
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They Came Closer
I love and hate the good parables. The really good ones. The ones that have so many ways in. The ones that give you so many things to say. Like the one from Sunday. I still dwell on them for days afterward. I have trouble moving on. Maybe I haven’t been preaching long enough to…
