Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

Lent 3B

  • A Messy Temple

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    7 min read

    In all of the order of the Temple, we struggle to see the mess underneath; why things need to change; and even what to do about it.

  • When Jesus starts a ruckus

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    4 min read

    What Jesus is up to in the Temple is distracting. But not nearly as much as our attempts to avoid dealing with his critiques of the Temple.

  • To be citizens, not consumers of the Kin-dom

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    2 min read

    What is behind Jesus’s outrage at the Temple? And what does it means for us? It begins with how we see our part in the system.

  • Between the Second and Third Sunday of Lent (Year B)

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    4 min read

    The move to Jesus’s actions known as the “cleansing” of the Temple offer us different ways to see our conflict and his purpose.

  • The Disruption of Jesus

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    6 min read

    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,…

  • The Art of Love

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    7 min read

    In overturning the tables in the temple and reimagining Sabbath law, Jesus invites us into a new relationship to our work. Not as adherents and citizens, but as artists and co-creators. Jesus invites us to be artists collaborating in a global masterpiece Lent 3B  | John 2:13-22 This church may have a lot of doors…