#year c

For Christ the King Sunday, we’re reading about the crucifixion. This was the point where he was recognised as King, and it was the same moment when the Roman Empire killed him for it. In some ways, this moment is the point of the whole story. This is the moment when he’s fully human (we all die) and the moment where his kingdom is realized (in self-sacrifice). It’s easier to understand Christ’s…

This passage is not a prophesy. Not the way we usually think of a prophesy these days anyway. It’s not a supernatural prediction of future events. The remarks about the temple amount to a kind of “memento mori”: remember, all things end. He goes a little farther talking about wars and uprisings and earthquakes and famine and other terrible events and signs. None of these are to be feared. They’re…

Something in the passage from Haggai caught my eye this week, so let’s take a look at that. I think we probably need to go back to chapter 1 to see the context here. We appear to be hearing about those who returned to the promised land after the Babylonian exile. They’re ruled not by their own king but by a governor who reports to their colonizers and they have come back to a place that needed a…

So last week, we read the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, contrasting their prayers in the temple and this week, we see a tax collector interacting with Jesus. In the biblical text between here and there, we have also seen the anecdote about the man sometimes identified as the “rich young ruler” interacting with Jesus. None of these passages are exactly next to the others, but…

This judge does not fear God or care what people think. He’s not being held accountable by anyone. It seems that he has no superiors overseeing his work. He doesn’t even care about his neighbours or peers thinking badly of him. The only person holding this judge to account is this widow. She has no actual power, no wealth to leverage, no social standing to rely on. All she has is the power to be…