Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

Parable

  • Wicked Tenants

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    7 min read

    I despise this parable. I always have. Hate, violence, and murder. Images of incarceration and indentured servitude. These are indeed wicked tenants. But I’m not sure the vineyard owner isn’t a little bit wicked too. The fence, the watchtower, the going away and letting them fend for themselves. I find the parable deeply troubling. And this…

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  • If ISIS Were Christian

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    4 min read

    Imagine if a random dude one day declares that he is the pope. This man isn’t completely random, perhaps. He’s got friends. He’s connected. Of course those connections aren’t Roman Catholic. He’s a member of the Army of God. He’s an activist. He’s proudly helped shut down clinics. He claims credit for radicalizing a young man…

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  • The parable of the deceitful contractors

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    4 min read

    A family was huddled in their house. The power had gone out briefly. They hadn’t packed provisions. Unsure of what was really going on outside. Then, a knock at the door. On the porch, a group of men and women, water dripping from umbrellas begin to speak. “I know it is nasty outside, but we…

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  • Learning to Feast

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    7 min read

    The Wedding Banquet, the king’s demands, and a kingdom of opportunity a Homily for Proper 23 A  |  Text: Matthew  22:1-14 A Strange Wedding There’s a part of this story that Jesus tells the Pharisees that makes sense to us and a part that doesn’t at all. This is the story of a weird kind of…

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  • Closer to the Kingdom

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    7 min read

    How the negative helps us find the positive in the Parable of the Wicked Tenants a Homily for Proper 22 A  |  Text: Matthew  21:33-46   It is a great honor to be here to join you this morning. I am so thankful for the grace and generosity that has been shown to me already. I…

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  • We Labor Together

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    7 min read

    Fairness in the Kingdom is not about your wealth, but our health a Homily for Proper 20 A  |  Text: Matthew 20:1-16 GOD’s way doesn’t seem fair It seems fitting that we would spend my last few weeks here dealing with what holy community looks like to Jesus. It is almost as if He’s trying to tell us something. I…

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