It is the late 12th century in central Italy, Assisi to be exact. Italy itself is not a united country but is made up of city-states of varying sizes and degrees of power, the largest and most powerful of which is the Papal city-state. Traditionally these various city-states had been...

Our Old Testament reading for this morning comes from the Book of Esther. This is the only Sunday in our entire three-year lectionary cycle that we hear from this book, so I am willing to bet that most of you do not know the story that this book tells. For...

Last week I spoke about wisdom and that an aspect of having wisdom is the ability to imagine a world that is different from the world in which we currently live and move and have our being. I think a lot of what Jesus preached, taught and did were his...

Last week, this week, and next week our first reading comes from the Book of Proverbs, one of the books of Wisdom literature in the Old Testament. Wisdom in ancient Israel and early Judaism included at least six important elements: knowledge, imagination, discipline, piety, order, and moral instruction. According to...

There is no doubt about it. Our Gospel reading for today is a challenging one. It is the only story we have in Mark of Jesus denying healing to someone who asks for it. And not only does he at first deny the healing of the Syrophoenician’s daughter, a child,...

The letter of James, the book our second reading for today came from, has not always gotten good press. The line that usually gets James into trouble is not from our reading for today but in the next chapter: “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”...

We have all heard the phrase, “You are what you eat.” We know that what we eat has an impact on our health. We all know that what we eat starts to create who we are as a body. But did you know that what you think and what you...

“Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-16 If I were to ask you to call out one...

I have a little quiz for all of you. Now don’t worry, I think you’ll find it very easy. Just tell me what products the following advertising slogans are connected to. For any of you who are not native to this country I give you a pass for this quiz....

Since the middle of June, we have been listening to the story of David, our great ancestor and the one from whose line Jesus came (both literally and spiritually). And it is quite a story, and he was quite the hero. The youngest son of a shepherd, he was anointed...