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No One Can Say
No One Can Say (Day 25 of A Simple Lent) | Wednesday In a most compelling turn, Paul leaves behind the abuse which bothered him yesterday to speak instead of what the blessed community should look like–how it should behave. But he centers it around being able to say “Jesus is Lord.” Therefore I want…
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Ephphatha – Be Opened
Ephphatha (Day 23 of A Simple Lent) Monday Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ The daily lectionary actually carved up one of the most challenging moments in Jesus’s ministry, in which, giving us the conclusion today before moving on to one of the seemingly most typical. In…
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Defile a Person
Defile a Person (Day 22 of A Simple Lent) Saturday I’m becoming increasingly conscious of the presence and absence of a single letter in worship. Such a small thing, almost imperceptible. It shows up and completely changes our intentions. Most of us don’t even see it. A radical transformation of intention and expectation comes from a single…
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Idol In the World
Idol In the World (Day 19 of A Simple Lent) Wednesday Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that ‘no idol in the world really exists’, and that ‘there is no God but one.’ What do you suppose is the question Paul is trying to answer? It always helps me to…
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How They Beg
How They Beg (Day 16 of A Simple Lent) Saturday After the craziness in the boat, in which the disciples forget rule #1 of discipleship: do what your rabbi does, we hit land and they find themselves in a graveyard with a crazy man. I’m not sure why I love this story, but I do. Maybe you…
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To Save Life Or To Kill
To Save Life Or To Kill (Day 10 of A Simple Lent) My absolute favorite part of Jesus’s teaching is his few teachings about Sabbath. I think dealing with them is an essential part of understanding Jesus. Sabbath law is at the core of Torah. The literal observance of the Sabbath day is important. More important,…
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As We Are One
As We Are One (Day 4 of A Simple Lent) When Jesus describes unity of relationship, it gets a little complicated. Reading John, one can get tied up in knots around who is “in” whom. And yet the image is quite captivating. The presence of you within me and me within you. This isn’t the language…
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Of the World
Of the World (Day 3 of A Simple Lent) “They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.” One of the temptations for the Christian is to develop an “Us vs. Them” mindset. We have seen this during those fights over so-called religious freedom. We see this when we…