Slavery is wrong, has always been wrong. So why would Jesus – God’s son – use slavery as an example and why would Matthew use it as well? In part it may be that slavery was common in the Roman empire and was generally accepted as the way life. That still does not make it right. Yet there may be a hidden message here on Matthew’s part at least.
Read MoreThat is why we answer Jesus’ call to mission; we see how others are mistreated, suffer, and struggle and we know that it is wrong – our guts tell us. Knowing that we have been given the authority, we then answer the call and bring Jesus and his love and care to those in need.
Read MoreWhile others are looking to, “Get back to the way it used to be.” We are excited by the possibility of and are looking forward to the new that God is creating. A new world where all people will be treated equally as God has made us.
Read MoreThe Holy Spirit comes when it chooses. When it comes, it comes and changes lives and situations. Luke shows us this. In Acts the spirit comes in different ways to different people and causes them to do different things. One thing is always the same, once you are filled with the Holy Spirit your life will never be the same.
Read MoreIn many early religions there was an understanding that if you knew the name of something you had power over it and could control it. It is, in part, the reason why Jews never pronounce the name of God (YHWH) when it appears in the text, instead saying “LORD.” While knowing the name of a person may work when disciplining young children, or to personalize an encounter with another, it does not give us any control over another person or thing. How then should we understand Jesus’ words in our gospel for today?
Read MoreWe are living in a time that is unprecedented for us and we see all sorts and ways of dealing with it. From denying that it is important to brushing off the sickness and death as water under the bridge. We miss the way it used to be. We fear what might happen to us. In this confusion and fear we are called to make decisions even when we do not fully understand the times.
Read MoreYes, questions are important. Just think about your own life. How many times were you in a situation that got blown all out of proportion because you, or someone else, did not ask a question. Relationships are based on asking questions not on assuming. Relationships are built on open communication and not secret whispering. I cannot tell you how many times I have been involved with counseling couples whose problem stemmed from not asking a question about some situation.
Read MoreJohn’s deliberate choice to include Jesus’ use of, “I Am,” was to emphasize Jesus’ divinity. “I AM,” had become the name of God in Judaism. It comes from the many times that God identifies himself in the Old Testament: “I Am YHWH, I Am He, I Am who I Am.” John is making sure the reader of his gospel knows that Jesus is the Great I Am.
Read MoreIt seems that Luke is not trying to prove that the resurrection of Jesus occurred here (his readers already believed that) but to tell something about Christian life. Remembering the early name for the church was “The Way,” and the other encounters that Luke tells us that happened on a journey such as Philip instructing the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:40) or Paul’s encounter on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-19), you can begin to see why Luke chose this story as his lead article on the resurrection.
Read MoreIn this time where we are keeping social distancing and staying at home how then are we to answer Jesus’ call?
Read MoreI have had several discussions lately about how sad Easter will be this year since we cannot gather as family. Both as church family and our own family. Yet, if you think about it, this Easter will be, in nature, closer to that first Easter 2000 years ago than any other Easter that we have celebrated in the past.
Read MoreWe have been processing with palms for a long time – and washing feet, and stripping the Altar, and experiencing the darkness of the tomb, and hearing once again the passion of Jesus – but now we must go it alone. Jesus did.
Read MoreOf course our self-isolation is not some arbitrary thing foisted upon us by some authoritarian figure. It is a needed response to slow the COVID-19 pandemic and save lives. We know that, but it still makes us feel as if we are Mary or Martha and have lost an important part of our life; or even feel that we are in the tomb with Lazarus.
Read MoreI can tell you of many instances when tragedy-struck people wondered why God was punishing them. Or that they no longer will worship God because God allowed something tragic to happen: financial loss, cancer, death of a loved one. You know them. Perhaps you have been one of them. I know I have certainly questioned God about why things have happened.
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