The parable of the self-righteous Pharisee and the repentant tax collector. At face value this is how we would tend to title and interpret the parable from our Gospel reading for this morning. Luke has told this parable in a way that encourages us to identify with the tax collector who demonstrates the positive Christian […]
In the past few years, I’ve found myself frequently turning to the books of Amy-Jill Levine, a New Testament scholar and orthodox Jewish woman. Perhaps because she doesn’t carry the baggage of 2000 years of Christian tradition on her shoulders, I find that her scholarship often gives me new eyes with which to see stories […]
Luke is a Gospel full of parables. The parable of the Good Samaritan and the parable of the Prodigal Son are perhaps the two best known of all his parables. And all of the parables in the Gospel of Luke share a common element. No matter the plot, all of the parables have a twist. […]
Coming back from a four-month sabbatical to this Gospel passage from Luke for this morning is like trying to run a 5K after not running at all for four months. It was more than a little painful and I discovered that some of my sermon-writing muscles had grown a little weak. But sometimes you just […]
All of us live by a story or a narrative that forms how we see the world and ourselves. Most of the time we are unaware of the story that guides our every action and thought. We just think that the way we see the world is the way the world is. And usually, the […]
I am going to read aloud some of Jesus most difficult words. Not all of them mind you, for that would take too long. As I read them aloud, think about which one is the most difficult for you. I am then going to ask for some of you to share out loud which saying […]
For those of you who notice details or are familiar with the idiosyncrasies of Episcopal worship you will have registered that the colors of our adornments are not green today, as would be the norm for the ordinary time of Epiphany, but have instead returned to white. One reason for this, of course, is because […]
In this week of the Presidential Inauguration, an interesting article from the Smithsonian Institute Magazine popped up in my feed entitled “A brief history of presidential inaugural speeches from George Washington to today” (Claire Jerry, published 1/14/2025). Being the history-minded person that I am I clicked on the link. The article cited the work of […]
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I […]
When I woke up on the morning of November 6, the day after the election, the first action I took was to pick up my phone to see the results, I suspect most of you did the same thing. For some, the results brought joy and a sense of relief, a feeling that the world […]