Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

Proper 17B

  • Christian tradition has a troubled past with purity, making it another thing to adhere to rather than a matter of love and grace.

  • The thing about claiming tradition is that it is precisely that: a claim. That doesn’t make it real, right, or true. We’re for the status quo.

  • How Jesus speaks to his interlocutors in this gospel can be troubling or exciting, but our focus must be what he is teaching his followers.

  • What were we up to before we spent all that time in a a different gospel? Here’s a recap of what we may have forgotten and where we’re going.

  • These two healing stories aren’t just about healing. They show Jesus expanding the circle of wholeness beyond his own expectations.

  • Not Me. Us.

    Jesus reorients us so we can see just how far we are from where we’re supposed to be headed. And that means changing focus.