Tag: Kin-dom

  • back to the future

    back to the future

    In the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6), Jesus tells us what we hoped we’d never hear: our world is upside down and we’re being called to flip it over.

  • Into the Wild Again

    Into the Wild Again

    In Advent, we feel the subversive nature of following Jesus, the seduction of power, and the quiet call to walk into the wilderness. Jesus, John, and the subversive nature of Advent Advent 2C  |  Luke 3:1-6 It must be Advent 2 again, because here comes John! Reading about this wild man in the wilderness is…

  • Making Home

    Making Home

    Jesus’s return home in Mark reminds me of the movie musical, The Greatest Showman. God’s dream is made, not by or for the powerful, but by the misfits for all of us. And for it to work, we must all have a part to play. Jesus and “The Greatest Showman” Proper 5B  |  Mark 3:20-35…

  • Closing in on Justice

    Closing in on Justice

    CLOSING IN ON JUSTICE The frustrating case of justice delayed, excuses made to slow the pace like cars in both lanes going 15 mph. Never passing, never making room. You imagine my outrage is an isolated incident and you, the right to slow my roll. Adversaries illustrated in India ink —black and white our only…

  • In the Kingdom of Earth

    In the Kingdom of Earth

    In the Kingdom of Earth, selfishness rules and violence is justified. How far such things are from what Jesus offers: a kin-dom of heaven. Proper 22A | Matthew 21:33-46 Several years ago, Rose and I took a trip to northwestern Michigan. We stayed in a bed and breakfast near Traverse City and drove up the…

  • Love Poets

    Love Poets

    Like poets, Jesus invites his followers to observe in our world those places where God breaks through so that we might revel in that joy. Proper 12A | Matthew 13:31-33,44-52 The work of the poet is discovery. After ruthless editing of course. Discovery. It begins first with discovery in the world: observation. The poet watches…