Pharisee
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The Challenge of the Coin
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3 min read
There is nothing worse than recommending someone not come to your church. It pains me to say it, then and now. A young seeker, looking to reconnect with church wanted to talk. We knew each other from previous work, so it was a different kind of awkward. It wasn’t the usual talking-to-strangers kind. She was…
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The “lost” parables reveal a strange truth about Jesus and a blind spot for many Christians. For as much as we want Jesus to treat everyone the same, He doesn’t. And in the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus contrasts the sinners with the righteous. He argues that the sinner who is redeemed brings GOD…
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They Came Closer
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3 min read
I love and hate the good parables. The really good ones. The ones that have so many ways in. The ones that give you so many things to say. Like the one from Sunday. I still dwell on them for days afterward. I have trouble moving on. Maybe I haven’t been preaching long enough to…
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Out of love
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6 min read
a homily for Proper 17C Text: Luke 14:1,7-14 The rude one We have all had the common experience of the cell phone conversation at the checkout. We are patiently waiting in line for our turn, while the person in front of us is yacking away about somebody named Tiffany and how her daughter…
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Law and Liberation
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6 min read
a homily for Proper 16C Text: Luke 13:10-17 The third time’s a charm Let me start with a conceit. As is so often the case, what Jesus says and does is not heard the same way by everyone. Jesus is breaking the law. For those who benefit from the lawbreaking, particularly the woman in…
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May He See Us
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6 min read
a homily for Proper 6C Text: Luke 7:36-8:3 The Awkward Dinner If I were to ask you to name a person, living or dead you’d like to have over for dinner, after hearing this story, I’m guessing you wouldn’t say “Jesus”. Jesus makes a lousy dinner guest for the faithful. The people that need help…