-
·
Hypocrites
My reflection on today’s gospel: Matthew 23:1-12.
-
·
Whose son is he?
Proper 25A Matthew 22:34-46 In this corna! Weighing in at a paltry 135 pounds of emaciated flesh, Jesus of Nazareth! And in this corna! Weighing a combined 1,600 portly pounds, the Pharisees! [Booooo!] For the last few weeks, we’ve been dealing with this sequence in Jerusalem in which Jesus is tangling with the Jewish leadership.…
-
·
Beyond Empire: giving to the emperor
Today’s gospel: Matthew 22:15-22 This is one of my favorite moments for Jesus. He has just been hammering at the Jewish leadership and attacking the relationship between the religious leaders and the empire. He chased the moneychangers and now they have all had enough. They’re coming to get him. So they bring a trap. A…
-
·
The wedding is the red herring
a Sermon for Proper 23A Text: Matthew 22:1-14 Give it up for weddings Raise your hand if you like weddings. All those happy people, the good food, a pervasive spirit of hope. Everybody dressed in their finest. The two, whose binding together we gather to support and cheer have never looked so beautiful and powerful. …
-
·
Responsibility without possession
Proper 22A Text: Matthew 21:33-46 Like last week, the lectionary has us dealing with some pretty tough stuff. It should come as no surprise since this all takes place during Jesus’s final week. Jesus has entered Jerusalem in a mock triumphal entry with his merry band of misfits and enormous crowd of followers. The group…
-
·
I had no idea I, too was going to hell!
David R. Henson wrote today about a missed opportunity to attack evil: evil in the form of stay-at-home dads. We are clearly where sin resides. Read about it here!
-
·
Forgiveness and 9/11
This morning I was at the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in Rome, Georgia. What a day to make one’s first appearance as supply! But they were gracious and welcoming and I think we made some good worship! Of course, preaching on such a day as this, it is impossible (or possible, but cowardly) to…