Crushed!

People get crushed in all kinds of ways, God has nothing to do with it!

February 25, 2013 By 7 Comments

by Michael Danner

Epistle Reading: Luke 13:1-9

For Sunday, March 3, 2013; Year C—Lent 3

Two observations and an initial question…

Observation #1: Good things happen and bad things happen.

Observation #2: Some people are good and some people are bad.

How are these two observations connected, if at all?

It’s only fair

In spite of the book of Job, the most common way people connect them, both then and now, goes like this: Good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. [Read more...]

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Postmodern Prophets

We desperately want a call like Jeremiah’s...or do we?

January 27, 2013 By 2 Comments

by Mike Stavlund

Old Testament Reading:  Jeremiah 1:4-10

For Sunday, February 3, 2013: Year B—Epiphany 4

Preachers are a funny breed. We take ourselves, our work, and our words very seriously—as we should—yet we assiduously maintain a veneer of pious humility. We work hard at something difficult in order to make it appear effortless. We imagine that we can change the world, or at least our little corner of it. Every week, we redouble our life’s investment in our spoken words, hoping that we can somehow evoke some of the Divine Word by these earnest efforts.

Yet underneath, we bear deep insecurities. [Read more...]

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The Madness of King Herod

Stars, travelers, and a battle for power.

December 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

by MaryAnn McKibben Dana

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 2:1-12

For Sunday, January 6, 2013—Epiphany of the Lord

In contrast to our beloved manger scenes—newly put away or, perhaps, still sitting on the coffee tables of the liturgically astute—it appears that significant time has passed between Jesus’ birth and the magi’s visit. The shepherds are back to work; Mary, Joseph and Jesus are in “a house.” Besides, Herod’s paranoia will soon lead him to exterminate all Bethlehem children aged two and under—a bit of an overreaction if Jesus is still a newborn babe in arms.

It’s also worth noting that the magi are not identified as kings here. Only two people wear that title: Herod, and the newborn king of the Jews. Which king will ultimately dominate? That’s the question today’s story sets up. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Matthew, New Testament, YearC Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

This is No Man after God’s Heart

Anybody brave enough to preach this one squarely?

July 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Old Testament Reading: 2 Samuel 11:1-15

For Sunday, July 29, 2012: Year B—Ordinary 17

The David and Bathsheba debacle is a terrible story.

It’s a tragedy of epic proportions. And worse, it’s a story everyone thinks they know, which means it’s that much harder to get someone to pay attention to its horror. And even worse than that, most people seem hell-bent on speeding past all the uncomfortable parts (and boy are there plenty) to arrive at the part where Nathan calls David’s bluff and David repents in 2 Samuel 12.

Talk About a House of Cards

But let’s just call a spade a spade, shall we? Let’s actually line up all the spades in a row, while we’re at it: This is a story about power and privilege.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: 2 Samuel, Featured, Old Testament, YearB Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Omnipotent Coercion

April 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Did God kill Jesus or not?

By Nanette Sawyer

New Testament Reading: Acts 3:12-21

For Sunday, April 22, 2012: Year B—Easter 3

After Jesus had ascended and the Holy Spirit had descended, the disciples went about healing and invoking Jesus’s name. People saw in their actions evidence of a power that awed them.

What Kind of Power?

This week’s pericope begins with Peter questioning the people’s sense of wonder that a man lame from birth has been healed. “Why do you stare at us,” Peter asks, “as though we’ve done anything? This was God’s power. God did it. God healed through the power of faith in the name of Jesus.”

This raises a few questions. What kind of power is this? How does God act in the world? And how can I get this kind of power? Because I have some people that I want to heal—people that I love and who are suffering a lot.

Clobbering Time

Who is responsible for the suffering of my loved ones? And who is responsible for the death of Jesus? I might not even think to ask this question about Jesus, except that Peter harps about it in this story. He says to the staring, wondering crowd, “you killed the Author of life whom God raised from the dead.”

Sometimes it is hard for me to read the Bible without cringing, and some of my cringing comes from a long history of being clobbered by the Bible. Some preachers hone right in on this accusation and emphasize that “you killed” bit. Being clobbered with the bad news never really ends up bringing good news in my experience.

It’s just guilt, guilt, guilt.

Shame, shame, shame.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Acts, Featured, New Testament, YearB Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Power Over Unclean Spirits?

January 22, 2012 By 7 Comments

What does this gospel message have to say to say to us today?

by Carol Howard Merritt

Gospel Reading:  Mark 1:21-28

For Sunday, Jan. 29, Year B − Epiphany 4

I was in college, on a short mission trip to Uganda, Africa. One evening, we were at a religious boarding school for girls, leading a service in a concrete block building. The humid night air flowed through the open windows, and the crickets sang in the background of our liturgies. At the end of the service, a timid young teenager asked one of the leaders if he could pray for her. Of course, he did.

Exorcism

It was not long into the prayer, when she began to tremor and scream. It was more than a super-sized tantrum. It seemed like something quite outside of her took over her being. And we spent the next two hours in the middle of an exorcism, with voices, deep with authority commanding that the evil spirit come out of this young woman’s body.

I stood, understanding the cliché about a person’s hair standing on end for the first time. I whispered pleas that God would protect her mind and body, that God would somehow calm the brutal storm erupting in her.

Matter-of-fact

Later, the British headmistress sidled up to me. She smiled and said with a voice I would expect to hear narrating a bright, cheerful

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Mark, New Testament, YearB Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Vampire Ministry

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Are we making disciples or sucking fresh blood?

by Unvirtuous Abbey

Gospel Reading: John 1:43–51

For Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012: Year B – Epiphany 2

There is something missing from Christianity these days as people flock to mega-experiences of church with power-personality-oriented ministries. In contrast, this call story from John is wonderful for one reason, and Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly) says it better than I can: “Recognizing power in another does not diminish your own.”

Mutual Appreciation

In this brief exchange, a bond is formed between Jesus and Nathanael; one my grandmother might jokingly call a “mutual appreciation society.” But it is mutual. Nathanael and Jesus saw something in each other. They recognize things in each other right away that allow them to form a bond of trust which enables them to move forward.

The story would have been very different had Nathanael fallen on his knees and simply said, “Rabbi, you are the son of God.” But this is not a story about a sycophant, or worse yet, a victim.

Refreshing Cynicism

Nathanael’s cynicism and analysis of the situation is shockingly honest: “Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, John, New Testament, YearB Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Yoke of the Law

October 23, 2011 By 8 Comments

What burden is it that the Pharisees refuse to lift a finger to move?

by Russell Rathbun

Gospel Reading: Matthew 23:1-12

For Sunday, Oct.30 , 2011: Year A—Ordinary 31

Things are about to get ugly, well, more ugly and more interesting.

The Ultimate Fight

Matthew’s Jesus has spent the last two chapters arguing, through parable and debate, that the chief priests, Herodians, Sadducees, scribes and Pharisees—all the religious leaders and power players—have squandered their positions as the guardians of the Law and administers of God’s justice and mercy.

Therefore, their place in the Kingdom of Heaven will be taken from them and given to others. Jesus then goes on for another chapter “Woe”-ing the hell out of the Pharisees and another two chapters describing the apocalyptic world their misdeeds have wrought.

Softening Them Up

I cannot help noting that Jesus begins his litany of charges against them with two clichés: Do as they say and not as they do; and they don’t practice what they preach. I would hope for more rhetorical flourish. But, perhaps, when Jesus said them they weren’t yet clichés, perhaps this is the origin of the clichés, and of course, clichés are clichés because they are true (to use another cliché). Or maybe the clichés are just to soften up the hearer for what comes next, a more complex charge leveled in one short verse.

They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Matthew, New Testament, YearA Tagged With: , , , , ,

Who Gives Us the Authority?

September 18, 2011 By 9 Comments

The question of power echoes throughout history.

 by Carol Howard Merritt

Gospel Reading: Matthew 21:23-32

For Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011: Year A−Ordinary 26

As a high school senior, I attended a large, nondenominational congregation where I felt a call to go into the ministry. I was excitedly getting ready for four years of religious studies when I went to the Sunday night church service one last time to say goodbye to my friends.

Call from Elsewhere

As the service began, my giddiness quickly faded and my heart began to ache. A male church member also happened to be going into the ministry. He didn’t have a degree and would not be earning one—but he would attend a six-week church-planting program, where he would learn everything he needed to know to be a good pastor. The hour was dedicated to surrounding him, blessing him, and sending him off.

I drove home, sorting out my experience. I didn’t expect any grand ceremony, but it was difficult to be completely ignored.

My evangelical church didn’t believe that women ought to be ministers, so there was no reason for them to recognize the calling blazing inside of me. But I couldn’t disregard it, because it didn’t seem to come from my church. It originated somewhere else. After a few years of struggling, my theology changed and I sought ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA). [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Matthew, New Testament, YearA Tagged With: , , , , ,

“How long to sing this song?”

August 22, 2011 By 3 Comments

Following, and being followed by, the cross.

by Unvirtuous Abbey

Gospel Reading: Matthew 16: 21-28

For Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011: Year A – Ordinary 22

 The last time I was “taken aside” was on a trip to Minneapolis, MN. As I stood before the airport scanner, I was told to empty my pockets, take off my shoes, take off my ring and watch, and remove my belt. Being patted down can be a humiliating experience.

But that was the point of being taken aside: being rebuked; to be reprimanded; to be disapproved of.

Shown the Way

This story is a teaching moment. Jesus is showing his disciples what being a disciple means: going to the centre of power, confronting the leaders of the day (and yes, suffering because of it), and then ultimately dying to protect others. “From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples…”

For the rest of his life on earth, Jesus shows them (and us) what is divine in this world: words, healing, stories, transforming, walking, holding, breaking bread, lifting up, and yes, confronting empire.

And he shows them what is human: oppression, mistrust, marginalization, stoning, ethnocentrism, and eventually, ultimately, crucifixion.

What’s scarier is that Jesus reveals that there is a fine line between what is divine and what is human.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Matthew, New Testament, YearA Tagged With: , , , ,
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