You will not find many Bible study groups doing a study of the Book of Ezekiel. The book is difficult and disturbing. The prophet acts in bizarre ways, and God is often cold and calculating. God commands Ezekiel to do strange things. The book of Ezekiel uses imagery and theological ideas that are often disturbing […]
A man who was born blind in a world in which there is little space for him, sits day by day in the public square begging for others’ leftovers so that he can survive. When others see him all they can see is his unseeing eyes and they feel afraid, for they know in their […]
The Gospel of John is full of symbolic imagery, the contrast between darkness and light being perhaps the most prominent image of all. Jesus is the light. Those who follow him live in the light. Those opposed to him live in darkness. We saw this in our Gospel reading from last week about Nicodemus who […]
So, John 3:16. What do you think of when you hear those words? I think of football games with people holding up big signs that can be picked up by the tv camera. I think of judgment. It makes me roll my eyes and squirm. “For God so loved the world that he gave his […]
Why do we give things up or take things on during the season of Lent? It is certainly not something that Jesus’ first followers did. There is some evidence that early Christians fasted forty hours between Good Friday and Easter, but the custom of spending forty days in prayer and self-denial did not arise until […]
“Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” When I hear these words every Ash Wednesday I think about mortality and death. I think about my own death. I think about the death of those I love. And I feel more than a little uncomfortable. I am probably not alone among humans […]
Maundy Thursday. The evening when we are reminded of the “Great Mandate” the “Great Commandment,” the “New Commandment.” “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love […]
The festival of Passover was a threat to the Roman authorities of Jesus’ day. After all, this was the week when the Jewish people remembered their liberation by God with feasting and with storytelling. It was the week when the Jewish people celebrated a God who led them out of slavery and bondage. It is […]
I want to begin by taking a step back and putting our Gospel story for today, Mary’s anointing of Jesus’ feet with nard, into larger context. In the Gospel of John, we have seen Jesus call his disciples, begin his ministry by turning water into wine, clear the temple of the money changers, and talk […]
I love Jesus’ parables. They are so simple and yet so complex. I especially love our parable for today, usually known as the parable of the prodigal son. No matter how often I read it or hear it read it has something new to say to me. At this point in my life, as a […]