Proper 11A  |  Genesis 28:10-19a, Matthew 13:24-30,36-43 Over the last few weeks, we’ve followed the first patriarch, Abraham, who made a covenant with God. He was promised a blessing: a child, a legacy, a nation that would come from him. God made a covenant with his wife, Sarah, that she would bear the child and begin this legacy. Which sounds awesome. Stuff happens, of course. The couple get…

image For Sunday  Epiphany 6C Collect O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever…

Photo by Tegan Mierle on Unsplash And into a life of love and trustProper 27A  |  Matthew 25:1-13 Let’s reset the scene. Jesus was at the Temple. It’s what we know as Holy Week. They are about to prepare for the Passover. While Jesus is awaiting his final trial. The disciples have watched as all of these different leaders—chief priests and scribes, Pharisees and their disciples, and the…

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash In the gospels, when Jesus is asked if it is Lawful for a Hebrew to pay taxes to Rome, he doesn’t say yes or no. It’s a trick question. And yet we want to know. Not as Pharisees trying to trick him, but as faithful people wanting the last word. This is a bit like a four year-old asking if we’re there yet. When we say “No, it’ll be three more hours,” do they…

Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash The work we already know to doProper 23A  | Matthew 22:1-14, Exodus 32:1-14 Jesus is at the Temple in Jerusalem. He had only, the day before, entered the city on a donkey and flipped the tables of the money-changers. A visual parable of God’s humility in the seat of human power and order. He came back the next day to be confronted by some of the…

Jesus invites his disciples to look beyond the power, the expectations, and the culture to see what God is doing. Photo by Sebastian Pociecha on Unsplash How Jesus invites us into a new way of seeingProper 22C  |  Luke 17:5-10 Aren’t you at least a little bit curious about what happened right before this gospel passage? Last week, we read the end of chapter 16 and now we’re starting in 17…

A path to love

For Sunday, the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost Collect Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.…

The Inevitable Search for Eternal Life

In a story we assume is about wealth, Jesus reveals our misconceptions about life, grace, and the human project. God, Grace, and HopeProper 23B  |  Mark 10:17-31 The teacher collected his students and set out to do the work. It seems like a long time ago now, but it wasn’t that long ago. Not ages, a generation, but maybe a year. Not long. And he healed people. By the thousands. It was…