Immediately after feeding a multitude with five loaves and two fish, Jesus makes the disciples get into a boat. “Make” is almost too gentle a word. The Greek verb suggests that Jesus compelled them, constrained them, practically forced them into the boat. This is not a pleasant invitation to take an evening cruise. Jesus puts […]
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 […]
Well lent is here folks. We are at the beginning of our season of preparation, preparation for Easter. For the next forty days, the church encourages us to keep a Lenten fast by, and I quote from the Ash Wednesday service; “by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating […]