“They did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.” Questions are our friends. Seem simple? It sure is, but somehow the disciples still missed it. At this point in Mark’s account, Jesus has taken them aside to teach them about his upcoming suffering, death, and resurrection. They don’t understand. We…
In today’s society—when progress for basic civil rights seems to be backwards and mis- and dis-information are rampant; when respect, collaboration, and cooperation in public seem to have gone out the window—Woman Wisdom’s exasperation in the reading from Proverbs (1:22) is felt even more deeply. The Common English Bible translation of verse 22 reads, “How…
Proverbs 22:2 provides a good summary of the thread that binds together these readings: “The rich and poor have a common bond, Yahweh is the maker of them all.” There is an immediate application for us: rich and poor aren’t different species, and they shouldn’t occupy different spaces. But, in the U.S. at least, we’re…
Those among us who fornicate, steal, murder, commit adultery, or talk about others should surely be disturbed by today’s words from Jesus in the Gospel reading. The same might be said for liars, the licentious, the envious, and the arrogant. Last Sunday, I was thankful we were done with the imagery of bread, but then…
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” (John 6:60) We claim to eat the body and drink the blood of a guy who died over 2,000 years ago. I think all religions are weird – we’re just used to the weirdness of ours. And it’s…
The game I most recall playing during my childhood was “Hungry Hungry Hippos.” Now, my family and I did not own the game, nor did my best friend. But I did have a few friends who owned this game. The game board featured four colorful plastic marble-gobbling hippopotamuses (or is that hippopotami?). The goal was…
Today’s sermon is entitled Living in Truth and Love: Nourished by the Bread of Life. Today, we delve into two profound passages from the Letter to the Ephesians and the Gospel of John. These scriptures guide us in understanding how to live a life rooted in truth and love, sustained by the Bread of Life,…
Let’s see – last week, Jesus had just fed 5,000 people with five small barley loaves and two fishes. There was so much food, the disciples gathered up twelve baskets of leftovers. And the very next day, the same people demanded, “What sign will you give us…?” If this were an episode of the Simpsons,…
“So they gathered [up the fragments left over], and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets” (Jn 6:13). Today’s Gospel story from John 6 is the same story that can find in Mark 6 or Matthew 14 or Luke 9 – all four gospel…
“Christ … is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the … hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both…
If you’ve been with me and following my sermons for the past 5 years, you might remember a sermon similar to what I’m preaching today. But I think it’s important enough to use similar ideas and language, for today’s Gospel reading is important for us to see through a new lens and with new ears….
At the beginning of today’s Gospel reading, I am reminded of our cultural practice to celebrate high school reunions. Every ten years or so, many people travel to reunite with those from their hometown to catch up and [perhaps] to boast about what they’ve been doing with their lives, how much money they’ve made, and…
