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The alternative Old Testament Reading for this Sunday is Isaiah 45:1-7, where the Lord calls up Cyrus to be used as an instrument to subdue nations, strip kings of their robes, and open doors for the returning exiles.
And in the Gospel Reading, Matthew 22:15-22, the Pharisees, along with their political enemies, the sycophants around the […]
This Sunday’s Gospel reading is Matthew 22:1-14, the Parable of the Wedding Banquet.
As we listen to Jesus as church members, we are generally okay with the first part. The king is God, the son is Jesus, the banquet is for us. Those lazy, distracted people at home watching the football game, playing golf, working on […]
The Gospel reading for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost is Matthew 21:33-26.
Jesus has entered Jerusalem as the humble, Suffering Servant Messiah that he is. Some, who Jesus likens to infants and nursing babies, hail him rightly as the Son of David. But the elite religious teachers refuse to accept his authority.
Jesus then tells them a […]
The Gospel for the 17 Sunday after Pentecost is Matthew 21:23-32
“By what authority do you do these things, Jesus?”
Behind the current battle about “fake news,” and whom to believe—scientists or politicians, is an existential question about the nature of true authority.
There is a great difference between authority and authoritarianism. Matthew tells us about a confrontation […]
The alternative first reading for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost is Jonah 3:10–4:11. This, and not the Big Fish, is the heart of the book. Jonah is forced to preach a warning to his arch-enemies in Nineveh. They repent. God changes his mind and forgives them. Jonah is angry, and wants to hold onto his […]
The Second Reading for this Sunday is Romans 14:1-12
It contains words such as ideas:
Welcome, and do not judge others who have different convictions, and live differently than you.
Leave the judging to God, who is, after all, merciful and capable of helping the fallen get up and stand.
Ultimately, all differences are superseded by Oneness: the one […]
You are sure, aren’t you?
You know that America is cleansed of its racist past. Now that we have had a black President, and read Oprah’s magazine, we must be color blind.
You’ve seen the playing field, and it is level. You know that despite their zip code, everyone can grab the American dream.
It’s all a plain […]
Depicted here, on the high utility post in front of our farm, is a scene that we see often: The tiny takes on the mighty.
If you look close you will see a tiny red-winged blackbird sitting on top of a formidable red-tailed hawk. At other times we will see all sorts of little birds harassing […]
The second reading for this 14th Sunday after Pentecost is Romans 13:8-15. It contains the following appeal from the Apostle:
11 Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12 the night is far […]
The second reading for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost is Romans 12:9–21; and it starts off with this challenging and profoundly simple idea: “Let love be genuine.” And the word for “genuine” means “no play acting.”
Daniel Schorr, the consummate CBS and NPR journalist and commentator, said that, when he started work for CBS, he didn’t […]
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