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Failing the Pop Quiz
“Get behind me, Satan!” is one of the most shocking phrases in the gospels. It is also one of the most revealing.
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Tough Questions
When Jesus asks the disciples who people say he is, he invites his followers to dig past identity. And into what they have seen. what is Jesus inviting all of us into?Proper 16A | Matthew 16:13-20 Jesus asks his followers a pair of tough questions in this gospel. They aren’t complex, of course. Jesus isn’t…
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A New World
The Transfiguration comes as a strange interlude. But its brevity reveals its true purpose is to reorient the disciples to their new journey.
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Rethink the Gospel for Advent 3B – Who are you?
Advent 3B | John 1:6-8,19-28 Two weeks in a row, the preacher gets to deal with John the Baptizer. And some of the elements sound repetitive. The quote from Isaiah, the preaching and preparing of the way, for instance. It is a subtle switch from Mark to John. And yet, while we might have the…
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Changing the Image of Jesus
When Peter calls Jesus the Messiah, he gets the right answer the wrong way. A pattern we repeat in our fear of chaos and of intimacy. Proper 16A | Matthew 16:13-20 If you’ve ever watched a painter work a canvas, you see the very transformation of absence into presence. The white canvas gets swirled and…
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Identity Politics
While Jesus tries to help them see what he is up to, they struggle to get past his identity. Even his closest followers are confused by who he is supposed to be. How fighting over the nature of Jesus prevents us from following Him.Proper 8C | Luke 9:51-62 Who is Jesus? Last week, we…
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Getting behind Jesus
This is the first movement in the turning point, the turning away from the early life of Jesus and toward his destiny. The turning away from safety and toward the danger of the cross. The turning away from home and toward Jerusalem. Jesus turns toward Jerusalem before his followers are ready Proper 19B | Mark…
