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Between Lent 1 & 2
Before we get John 3:16, we have the signs and the Temple and dealing with uncertainty, and a lot of questions.
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The Disruption of Jesus
We’re tempted to see the clearing of the Temple as something other than disruption. We’re afraid of what it reveals about Jesus. When the Shepherd clears the TempleLent 3B | John 2:13-22 Jesus walks into the Temple, makes a whip, and drives the animals, tax collectors, and dove sellers out and then flips tables. Objectively,…
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What goes to the emperor?
We forget the question of taxes is a trap. And Jesus’s answer isn’t a solution to modern society. It is, however, essential.
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This Tuesday of Holy Week 2019
When the authorities confront Jesus in the Temple, they find a popular teacher warning them not to choose the way of death.
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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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God Embodied
The birth story isn’t about Mary and Joseph; it is about how Jesus comes into the world. AND how Jesus keeps coming into the world. The purpose of the Christmas story Christmas 1C | Luke 2:41-52 The birth backstory Every year we anticipate the coming of Jesus, lighting candles, a new one each week; four…
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Tearing Down the Temple
Jesus’s call for the end of faith as we know it Now, Jesus isn’t pushing us toward a churchless faith, a religionless spirituality, or independent devotion. Jesus doesn’t attack the institution because it is an institution but because the leadership of the existing institution is corrupt. Because how they understand scripture is corrupt. Because the…