August 4, 2019 - Proper 13C

Lectionary Readings

O God, teach how to be rich towards you in all things ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Last Sunday, with the Lord’s Prayer as the Scriptural foundation, we considered the radicality and challenge of praying “thy Kingdom come.” For the next several Sundays, the Gospel texts will all have stories of Jesus speaking about the Kingdom through parables that show us what living in the Kingdom of God is all about.

September 18, 2016 - Proper 20C

Lectionary Readings

Almighty God, may you guide us to seek the Truth: come whence it may, cost what it will, lead where it might. Amen.

            To say that was a challenging parable is an understatement. Lest you think that you just need to reread it a few times and it will make more sense, I’ve been doing that all week and it’s still an enigma. When I read commentaries on the passage this week, I noticed that they all seemed to spend more pages on this parable than other Biblical passages, sort of the way when you don’t have an answer you just stammer on, hoping that something might eventually make sense. One scholar even called this the “problem child of parables.” For one, the explanation that is offered by Jesus after the parable doesn’t seem to line up properly with the parable itself.

May 1, 2016 - Easter 6C

Lectionary Readings (John 14 option as gospel text)

In the name of the Risen Lord. Amen.

            What is peace? That’s a question that I asked on Facebook this week and I received a number of responses: quiet, being in nature, time with family, painting, music, reading, gardening, and, of course, ice cream. Peace is one of those words that we throw around without ever stopping to consider its meaning. I find it fascinating, and telling, that no one answered that peace is the cessation of hostility, nor did anyone respond with an understanding of peace that is rooted in possessions, prestige, or wealth. And yet, it seems that our lives are all built around the pursuit of material things, winning, and earning money. The things that we innately know are the most life-giving and important to us are the very things that we sacrifice to chase after the idols of money and materiality.