Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

Jesus

  • Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. When we tell the birth story of Jesus, we speak of this unlikely couple with a very unlikely pregnancy; a trip to Bethlehem with its…

  • “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” That’s how we remember the line. The passage from John actually says: “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Close, right? Still totally recognizable. So easy to turn into an aphorism, a saying. Jesus is trying…

  • For our darkest hours Jesus gives us a vision of the Kingdom of GOD and the blessed community. When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the…

  • But I wonder, if we listen close, if we don’t hear words, we’ll hear weeping. Weeping for the loved one lost? Weeping for GOD’s own? Weeping for our pain and suffering and confusion? Weeping because we haven’t listened.  Mary, Martha, Lazarus and the Light of the World All Saints’ Day B  |  John 11:32-44  Sisters…

  • This final moment has a blind man in front of them, but can they see him? He is shouting for Jesus, but can they hear him? Is the man like a tree, walking to them? Are his shouts like the buzz of a mosquito? Do they not understand yet, even now, at the end of…

  • I don’t know what those first followers did after he was gone. I know they cried, some wailed, all wondered what to do. Where to go. Who they are now. If we follow him, and these other, really smart, highly educated, super powerful leaders don’t like what our leader (is he really the Messiah?) had to say,…