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When tradition must be broken
When the Pharisees enter the story, I see the religious establishment. They are the truth police, arresting those who compromise their view of the world. You are doing what we tell you not to do. Seeing them, I see the church today. In every skeptical comment the Pharisees make and every philosophical trap they try…
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In the Wilds
a homily for Advent 2A Text: Matthew 3:1-12 In the wilderness, a hero As our story begins, it says John “appeared in the wilderness.” Other verbs would convey motion: John walked, wandered, or made his way. Our verb “appeared” lacks motion: he was not—then he was. John appeared, like an apparition, it seems from nothing.…
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Our Fast
It is fitting that Congress set All Saints’ Day as the day to cut SNAP (the program formerly known as Food Stamps). The day we celebrate all of the saints that came before, all the saints in our midst, and all of the saints to come, All Saints’ Day is one of the church’s principle…
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You want me to throw what into the sea? (Eating Scripture)
For the last two and a half chapters in the gospel we call Luke, Jesus has been building up this teaching on faithfulness and action. It began with the crowd when he told them three parables about things that were lost and found. Each was lost, redeemed, and forgiven. Powerful stories that we often take…
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Bridging the Gap
a homily for Proper 21C Text: Luke 16:19-31 Picturing the People Listen again to the opening sentences of this parable. Hear it. Close your eyes and take it in. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay…
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May He See Us
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…
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The scandalous character of ministry
The Lectionary did us no favors by jumping into Luke at chapter 7, skipping what I think are the two most important chapters in the whole gospel in 5 and 6. Smack in between the calling of disciples and the Sermon on the Plain is one of my favorite moments of Jesus’s. It is striking…
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Holy City (Eating Scripture)
Last week, we had the temptation in the desert, the quintessential Lenten text. This time, we get Angry Jesus. I have a soft spot for Angry Jesus. What Jesus is angry about is the stuff we already know, but rarely give attention to. It falls into two parts: the hypocrisy of leaders and their support…