Today’s Gospel begins with Jesus trying to get away. Matthew tells us that Jesus withdrew by boat to a deserted place. He had just learned that John the Baptist had been murdered by Herod. John—Jesus’ cousin, teacher, baptizer, and fellow prophet—had been executed because he dared to speak truth to power. Jesus must have been […]
“The kingdom of heaven is like…” Again and again, Jesus begins with those words. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast hidden in flour. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure buried in a field. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
he idea of eternal punishment or “hell” is a difficult concept for modern progressive Christians. Because we understand that God is love itself, we cannot imagine that God would ever condemn any human being, no matter what they did during their lifetimes, to eternal pain and suffering. I think this evolution in our thinking is […]
A friend and I were talking about this summer’s weather recently, and she decided that the summer should be called 2023: the summer nothing would dry. But I had another title, 2023: the summer of the weed. I don’t know what your yard looks like, but I fear that by fall the weeds will have […]
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” I think that forgiveness is talked about more in the Bible than any other topic. Maybe love is talked about more, but then again love and forgiveness are inextricably linked […]
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 […]
Fear. I would imagine that this was the primary emotion floating around that upper room in Jerusalem more than 2000 years ago. This small band of Jesus followers have been on quite a rollercoaster. For a few years they ardently listened to and followed Jesus. He gave them hope and courage in a time when […]
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