It is among the masses in Galilee that Jesus starts his healing and teaching ministry. Jesus’ popularity as a man who can heal whatever ails a person spreads beyond the Galilean borders. His newly acquired celebrity attracted enormous crowds; the crowds consisted of the infirm and their caregivers and friends, as well as curious, fascinated, and antagonistic fans and tag-alongs. Eventually,
Sermons
James Liggett Several years ago, one of the Public Opinion companies, it was probably Gallup, did a survey of Americans and asked a very interesting question. They asked several thousand people whether they had ever had what they would call “a religious experience,” a personal experience of whatever sort, that brought them somehow into the presence of God. The survey also asked several
You may have noticed that the Gospel readings in Matthew 13 over the past three weeks have all been split apart. Two weeks ago, we heard the Parable of the Sower. Last week, we heard the Parable of the Wheat Among the Weeds. Today, we started with the Parable of the Mustard Seed, which is actually inserted between the Parable of the Wheat Among the Weeds and its interpretation. And since I love
When I was younger, and even today – I must admit – I enjoyed watching Scooby Doo, the premise of which always involved a gang of teenagers and their dog chasing after a villain, foiling the villain’s plans, and ensuring that good prevailed. Today’s Gospel reading made me think of an episode when Scooby and the gang were after the ghost of the Red Baron, a nefarious villain who had
A parable is a story – and it usually compares something to something else in order to make a point or teach a lesson. In the Hebrew Bible – what we often call the Old Testament – these stories are relatively rare. But in the New Testament, we hear them a lot from Jesus. In today’s Parable of the Sower (Mt 13:3-8), without the explanation that is added after it (18-23), there is only one