Our many years of observing Palm Sunday with the waving of branches and shouts of hosanna have made us so familiar with the story that we have perhaps lost a sense of what is so odd about it. For the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is a strange story. We also forget that […]

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The writer of our story from John this morning clearly wants us to see Mary and Judas as contrasting examples from whom a lesson is to be learned. Obviously, Mary is the positive example, receiving Jesus’ praise, support, and protection, and Judas is the negative example receiving Jesus’ rebuke, and the narrator’s harsh condemnation. And […]

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Not surprisingly, I have become very conscious of feet over the past two months. Losing the use of a foot, even temporarily, has made me acutely aware of exactly how important our feet are and how much abuse they take. They bear the weight of our entire body and all the physical activities of our […]

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I’ve been thinking a lot about atonement lately. Atonement is a theological term that basically seeks to answer the question, “Why does Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection matter to us and to creation?” When you read theological writings about the subject, you can begin to wonder if it is all simply another discussion about how […]

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As you might guess, I have had a lot of unoccupied time over the past five weeks of my medical leave. My foot wasn’t working right, but my brain was just fine. I did a lot of reading, and I watched a bunch of tv. In this world of the internet and streaming, this means […]

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It is Maundy Thursday. During the season of Lent, we have walked with Jesus from his temptation in the wilderness, through healings, teaching, preaching, and many challenges to the established order. He has consistently and continuously challenged the power of the world—power over, violence, exclusion, hoarding of resources, dominance, and the like, and shown that […]

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