Jesus makes use of distinctions in some of his parables. He makes a distinction between sheep and goats in the parable he tells this Sunday. The distinction highlights the difference between humble loving actions that need to be practiced and proud harmful ones that require conversion. This distinction and others are so obvious they confirm … Continue reading “Distinctions”
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Gift Economy
There is some evidence the U.S. Empire is like, or perhaps worse than, the man in Sunday’s Gospel. The man, out of fear, puts the gifts he has been given to no good use; he “went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried” the gifts. So too, the U.S. receiving the gifts … Continue reading “Gift Economy”
Sacred and Profane
Jesus cleanses the Temple in today’s Gospel reading. The Temple represents a division instituted by religion, specifically the division between Divinity and the natural world. Gods were once believed synonymous with the forces of nature. Those forces could be deadly and were feared. So too the gods assigned to the forces were deadly and feared, … Continue reading “Sacred and Profane”
Eternal Life
Does eternal life refer only to the hereafter or can it also refer to the herebefore and to all that is in between? Has life always been and will it always be? How can we conceive of the mystery of life? It is a miracle, revealing all that is delicate and yet so very enduring. … Continue reading “Eternal Life”
The Risk of Love
Love is the greatest risk of all. No other risk we take renders us more vulnerable. Yet no other risk we take gives our lives more meaning. And so we risk love; with family again and again. We risk love again and again with friends and with neighbors we meet here and there in the … Continue reading “The Risk of Love”
Conscientious Authority
This Sunday’s Gospel shows Jesus’ local opponents colluding with Roman sympathizers. The Pharisees and the Herodians are colluding in a plan to trap Jesus. They use a tax question to set the trap. “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar?” Jesus’ response is commonly misinterpreted by self-titled Christians. Martin Luther famously misinterpreted … Continue reading “Conscientious Authority”
Whistleblowers
Jesus’ parables, in addition to being enjoyable and thought provoking, are a means to speak truth to privilege. This Sunday’s parable is one example. It is a long parable that tells a story about invited guests who reject a meal and kill servant messengers. It is basically an account of the destructive history of the … Continue reading “Whistleblowers”
Gift of Creation
Jesus tells a parable this Sunday about the Community of God. He describes it metaphorically as a vineyard. The vines and their fruit, like all of creation, are given to us as a gift. If we receive the earth’s many gifts and care for them, the earth will continue to be a source of nourishment. … Continue reading “Gift of Creation”
Easy Choices
Jesus’ parable this Sunday seems to present most modern readers with an easy choice. Is it better to say “No” to a father’s public request but then do as he asked? Or is it better to say “Yes” but then not actually fulfill the request. Modern readers would likely say doing what was asked is … Continue reading “Easy Choices”
People Getting What They Deserve
Someone getting what they deserve has an ominous tone to it. While it could indicate someone being rewarded, the sound of it feels more like someone is suffering as payback. Whichever the case, people getting what they deserve signifies an exacting judgment to ensure fairness. Jesus’ parable this Sunday is about a landowner who doesn’t … Continue reading “People Getting What They Deserve”